Bellatrix looked at Azkaban Prison with a cold fury. This was arguably the place that molded her the most in the last three decades which in Magic's eyes made it her home. An archaic magical notion that was one of the reasons that Hogwarts was so beloved in Britain. It was the place where most magicals Identities were shaped, their magic cultivated. A powerful idea in itself, most British magicals held pride in that they were educated at Hogwarts.
Bella held that notion of course, along with a caveat. Tainted by her time in Azkaban, she knew that she wasn't the witch she was when she first entered. Before, she could duel her Lord to the point that he hardly held back. Now, she can't stand in front of his power and presence. This place… Azkaban robbed her of that position.
She was still his most faithful, his most dutiful, his most powerful. Today, she would prove it by conquering this rock for Him, to capture the treasure he desired, and then raze the prison to the ground.
She took a deep breath, her magic simmering as it interacted with her former home for close to two decades. She ignored the fidgeting of the Death Eaters behind her, the only two that were still she knew were sharing her feelings. After all, Dolohov and Rookwood both called this hellhole home with her.
"Attack on my signal. Augustus, Antonin, I want nothing but bodies. Our Lord's Arrival will be greeted with a crimson carpet, understand?"
Rookwood nodded his bald head, his wand already in hand, and his face stoic. He was always stoic, only smiling as he tore apart a challenge, either magically or mentally. Anton smiled with blinding white teeth, a gesture most would state was beautiful, until the madness and bloodlust were seen in his blue eyes. His wand shot black sparks as it leaped into his waiting fingers. The other Death Eaters, most of who Bellatrix did not care about enough to learn their names, raised their wands.
She could feel the magic in each of their bodies raise to their wills, preparing itself for the assault on the wards. She raised her right hand, fingers splayed. Mentally she counted down, and once she hit zero mentally, she closed her hand into a tight fist.
The wards fell in a cascade as forty blasting curses slammed into the weakest structure point.
"Forward."
Hermione and her troop of soldiers crouched as the wards flashed above them. It had taken them over two weeks to infiltrate the wards, adding their magic to the ward signatures externally and ensuring that their crossing wouldn't trigger anything. She glanced towards Adrian who was staring towards the far west end of the island, a small smile on his face.
"Nothing to worry about General. They are over a mile away, and by the time they reach this spot, we will have gained our prize and be halfway to our objective. Come. We must not dally. My illusions will only hold these foul creatures for so long."
Hermione nodded and urged her people forward. She wasn't sure how he had done it, but Lord Frankenstein had managed to snare the Dementors in an illusion that held them in place, their auras stationary. Occasionally, one would twitch, and one of the soldiers would point their wand at the creature only for Adrian to snap at them to leave them be.
As they entered the castle prison itself, she silently ordered her men to kill any the passed. Spellfire erupted from their wands as Aurors who were rushing forward met a fast end thanks to piercing curses and bone breakers. Prisoners were killed swiftly with piercing curses to the forehead, and their bodies pilled up to act as backward barricades. All as they discussed. It was with a cold efficiency that they marched to the deepest depths of the prison.
Kingsley Shacklebolt ran into the Auror office from the Emergency Apparition Point. As he entered it was to a mass of red armored Aurors and Rufus Scrimgeor standing on a dais as he assessed the situation from an enchanted map in front of him. He pushed his way through the bodies, several of them seeing his Captain status patch and making way. Robards nodded at him as he finally stepped onto the dais, his red armor shown to the world as he had forsaken the heavy Auror robes today. Both looked at the enchanted map that was displaying real-time ward data from every major Ministry settlement. Their eyes were only on the flashing island in the North Sea, however.
Rufus spoke softly, but all other speaking ceased immediately. "Someone has caused the wards of Azkaban Prison to fall. We know of only two possible groups capable. There are currently twenty-six aurors available in this room. You will be split into two teams of twelve each based on your current squads. Your most senior Auror in the squad will report to either Shacklebolt or Robards. Squad leaders meet in five minutes. The rest of you, get ready. You will be going in hot. Kingsley, Gawain, with me." The lion of a man strode purposefully towards the back office the map already flying back to its location in the Auror's response pen.
Within the office, the head of the DMLE sat with the Minister of Magic himself. Amelia Bones and Cornelius Fudge were in a whispered conversation, with it obvious that the Minister desired a more in-depth briefing than the memo he clutched in his hand stated.
"Minister Fudge, Madame Bones. We are preparing our entry towards Azkaban Island. Ma'am, with your permission, I would like to enter the field myself." Rufus did not waste time, locking eyes with Amelia Bones.
Amelia was silent even as Fudge sputtered and croaked. "Absolutely not! You are needed here, Rufus! Who will coordinate the assault? Who will ensure that the office runs-"
"With all due respect Minister, shut up. There will not be an Auror office if this assault fails. I am mobilizing every single auror that is not currently on duty protecting vital assets. I am going to enter the field today, I merely granting Madam Bones the ability to either chew me out now or later." Rufus snarled as he tugged his tie off, throwing it to the corner and his wand switched his suit for his combat armor.
"Rufus." Amelia's voice made the Head Auror freeze for a moment to lock eyes with the head of the DMLE. "I am granting you kill rights. Every single auror on that island is to shoot to kill. Should Voldemort or Grindlewald themselves arrive, retreat or bring me their heads. I care not about the prison. If necessary sink the damn island, with them on it." Amelia's voice was level and cold, ignoring Fudge's wide eyes.
"Sink… Now see here Rufus! I am the Minister of Magic and you will not-"
"Orders received and understood Madam Bones." Rufus cut across the bumbling Minister and swept from the room, Kingsley and Gawain following.
"There are only three reasons to attack Azkaban right now. Either they are after the Dementors, the prisoners, or they want something that is buried on that island. I don't care what they want gentlemen, kill them all. Kingsley, notify Hogwarts of the attack. While I would prefer if Dumbledore did not come, I know that even with our skills none of us are handling Grindelwald or Voldemort. With Potter training, he is the only one in Britain that is going to be capable. We also have another concern. The wards collapsing means that the Azkaban war wards will trigger soon. They will lock down that island. Designed to solely keep the Dementors in, those wards will trap us on the island without our special portkeys. Your badges will be the only ways off that island. If one of the Aurors falls, ensure that that badge is destroyed. Understood?"
With a chorus of yes sir's Rufus prepared himself to dive into the fray as Kingsley shot a patronus message to Minerva. By the time the message traveled from the Ministry to Hogwarts, the Aurors would be in the middle of the battlefield.
Bellatrix ran down the hallways, her eyes frantic as all she saw were corpses and curse marks on the walls. Several bodies were piled together, their eyes glassy as their foreheads all held a singular hole from a piercing curse. As she twisted around a corner her senses screamed at her to duck, so she slid along the floor on her knees as a trio of curses soared over her head. Looking at their origin, she spotted three dragon hide vested men, each pointing wands at her. She snarled but before she could launch a curse, a hazy purple flame lashed over her head, decapitating them. Antonin strode forward, as he blocked a curse from the remaining man.
"Go Bellatrix. I will handle this swine. You grab the Crown." She nodded as she ran past the man, who was frantically blocking the bloody red curses that the Death Eater was firing. She ran down, shooting killing curses at any person who wasn't wearing the black robes of the Death Eaters, uncaring if the curses actually hit as she was merely running past. Down, past her old cell, down past even the cell built to hold her Master should the Ministry ever succeed to capture him, and finally she hit the end of the run.
Standing in front of her was a young girl with bushy hair and a man with silver hair and glasses. Both turned towards her, and Adrian smiled as he fingered the shining silver circlet in his hands.
"Oh, the mudblood and the Mad Scientist. My Lord wants what you are holding Frankenstein."
Adrian smiled as he fingered the masterpiece he spent nearly two decades crafting. Built to amplify his specialties, it allowed him to fight his Lord Grindelwald on even footing even when he held the Elder Wand. It was not as difficult to get as he feared, as it was merely sitting on a pile of discarded and now drained relics. Swords, shields, and various other items piled nearly half a mile wide. His Night Crown sat right on the edge, shining innocently, enchantments still holding strong due to the mithril it was anchored. He answered the mad witch in front of him and his general without looking at her.
"Your Lord? Your lord has no right to my crown. My masterpiece. The only right he currently has is the right to a grave when I end him." He smiled as he slipped the crown onto his head, its black gem resting on his forehead proudly.
"General, engage while I complete our mission here. I need merely a moment." Hermione nodded as she gulped and flicked her wand forward, needle curses slamming into Bellatrix's shield even as she twisted to the side to dodge a red Crucio from the woman.
Adrian raised his wand towards the blackened miasma of magic and ice that was the nexus of the Dementors on Azkaban. A physical representation of the magic of the creatures that had latched onto the ley line that fed the prison itself with magic, it was a tangled, twisted foul excuse of magical energies that manifested the creatures at an accelerated pace. The crown on Adrian's head glowed with a pulse of black magic as his wand flashed up and launched three balls of blue light. Forming a triangular positioning around the nexus, Adrian chanted in several different languages, their conflicting syllables flowing from his tongue with an ease born of practice. With a flick, a dusting of blue particles started to expand from the orbs, slowly surrounding the nexus. Dementors surged from the Nexus, half formed with cloaks barely covering their rotting bodies only to slam into the slowly forming cocoon. As the cocoon finished forming, Adrian flicked three more orbs into place, purple in color this time.
With a savage smile, the Crown on his head flashed as the purple orbs entered the cocoon at three equidistant points. Pointing his wand at the purple orb directly in front of him. Adrian spoke a single spell.
"Fiendfyre."
The spellfire ceased behind him as a rush of scarlet fire in the shape of an eagle surged forward, slamming into the purple orb and being sucked through the cocoon, only to blast from all the purple orbs simultaneously. Fiendfyre was an interesting spell, as it was one of the few that actually targeted magic itself, making it one of the most dangerous curses to ever exist. As it burned through the nexus and Adrian cut the spell from his end, he quickly flicked his wand. The purple orbs rapidly started to rotate, cursed fire still spewing from them as it rapidly destroyed the nexus of the Dementors.
Pointing his wand once more after a few seconds, Adrian chanted three phrases in Hindi before forcing his magic forward. The cocoon slowly shrank, as sweat started to form on his brow, before finally with a pop, the cocoon formed a singular point of highly condensed magic. A point that Adrian then used a simple vanishing spell upon before throwing up the strongest layered shield he could, as the cocoon imploded.
CRA-BOOOOM
Rookwood danced between the spells that the troops of Grindelwald were firing. They were all skilled, more than most of the Death Eaters that accompanied him, as evident by the various bodies around him. A grunt escaped him as a bludgeoning curse threw him down the hall, even as the caster was killed by a bonebreaking curse to the neck. He flipped backward, tapping himself with his wand to allow the half dozen spells that flew towards him to phase through his body. A trick he developed in the Department of Mysteries, a singular tap allowed him to, for lack of a better term, shift the reality points of his body into a different level of reality. Granted momentary intangibility was one reason he was considered so dangerous. Especially as he could weaponize it. He crouched down preparing himself mentally for it as a loud explosion sounded from below him.
His eyes went wide as he felt Azkaban itself shift from the explosion, and with a whirl of black, Rookwood vanished. Just as he reappeared, slamming into the ground as the war wards erupted up, he watched in horror as the castle that was once Azkaban began to collapse.
He was snapped out of his watching as his magic screamed at him to move. A splash of red slammed into the ground where he was as he rolled forward. Looking over his shoulder he snarled at the small army of Aurors that stood in front of him. Rufus Scrimgeor held his wand aloft, a spark of red on its tip.
"Hello Rookwood. Do give me an excuse to fire, I didn't leave the office for no reason after all."
Before Rookwood could answer a black billow of smoke erupted from one of the windows of Azkaban, soaring towards the kneeling Death Eater. Crashing into the earth, Antonin formed himself back from the billowing shadows his wand in hand and his eyes alight in the mirth of destruction.
"Bella should be coming soon Augustus. Those Grindelwald swine shouldn't keep her from this fight."
Even as he said those words, three black bursts of smoke blasted through the doors of the prison before they were barred by rubble, flashes of light dancing between them as spellfire was exchanged. Breaking off, two flew towards the side, forming slowly into Adrian Frankenstein and a rather Green looking Hermione Granger. The last blasted down in front of the two remaining Death Eaters and formed smoothly into a livid Bellatrix Lestrange. Antonin glanced at Rookwood before opening his mouth.
"Don't speak Antonin. That… freak Frankenstein stole the concept from my mind even as I executed it. Occlumency at full, we kill them all."
While she gave her orders to her two remaining Death Eaters, Rufus swore softly as dementors started to erupt from the ruins of Azkaban prison, their cries of anger obvious. "I want half of you restraining the dementors! Robards, Kingsley, take them down hard!" with a roar, he sent a wave of fire towards the Death Eaters, even as Kingsley and Robards attacked Frankenstein.
Bellatrix merely flicked her wand down and snuffed the rolling fire out before it ever reached them, before rapidly firing two Killing Curses, and conjuring a dagger that she threw to the left. Two killing curses slammed into two Aurors killing them before they could conjure cover, and the knife found its home on the shoulder of another before it exploded, killing him. With a screech, she engaged Rufus, their next spells colliding with a thunderclap.
From the wreckage of Azkaban, several billows of smoke found their way out as Death Eaters continued to join the fray and engage the aurors. Several Death Eaters found themselves dueling two Aurors at once, slowly being overwhelmed until either Antonin or Augustus would interfere and either kill or maim one with a well-placed curse or spell. Rookwood would whirl around in a miasma of grey magic, spells phasing through his body, their trajectory altered enough to hit other aurors, with him merely not allowing anything that was unblockable to touch him. Antonin stood fairly stationary, only moving within a five-foot radius, flicking up crystalized blood barriers with the blood of the enemies that he slowly piled up to block spells while lashing out with piercing curses and cutting curses to get more blood flowing.
Kingsley flinched as his head throbbed, even as he blinked away the illusion of the spell that was coming, before shielding against the bludgeoning curse. Fighting Frankenstein was as horrid as the character report suggested. Nothing was as it seemed with him, and the only method to fight him was to utilize one's innate magical senses to figure out what was real and what wasn't. Yet that seemed to only work half the time, the rest was an instinctual movement that Kingsley had spent nearly a decade forming. Those senses saved him again as he dove out of the way of an invisible cutting curse that carved a furrow in the ground. A glance at his target confirmed his worse fear.
Adrian Frankenstein wasn't even trying. He was calmly flicking his wand and only had eyes for Bellatrix Lestrange, who was locked in combat with Rufus Scrimgeour. The Head Auror was matching the witch spell for spell but was visibly tiring. Adrian's attention however snapped towards the bushy haired witch that he brought with him before snapping his wand in her direction. A flash of white light and Kingsley cried out, "NO!" as Gawain Robards fell with three slashes tore through him, leaving his left arm, right leg, and torso was torn asunder even as the girl Kingsley recognized as Hermione screamed from a cutting curse clipping her face.
Adrian then flicked his wand faster than Kingsley could react, blasting him back over forty feet, into three more Aurors that were busy engaging Antonin. Three Aurors were quickly killed before Kingsley could make it to his feet and duel the smiling madman.
Adrian strode forward, healing the slash on Hermione's cheek with a casual spell. "Leave the rest to me General." Flashes of spells slammed into a shield he conjured before being countered with a drilling curse, or piercing spell or some horrid illusion that made the Auror or Death Eater alike scream before they fell to another spell from some other opponent. Finally, the Lieutenant reached the duel between the Head Auror and Bellatrix, which was reaching it's climax. Rufus made a single mistake, slamming a concussion curse into an explosion hex, that merely hid the disarming charm in its wake. A charm that lost him his primary wand. That momentary disarming as he reached for his backup cost him majorly as Bellatrix coolly stated,"Crucio."
Rufus screamed and flailed as the witch held the curse, before raising her wand and blocking a spell from Adrian Frankenstein. Frankenstein casually banished the Head Auror backward, out of his way as he stared emotionlessly at Bellatrix.
"Voldemort cares about you. I wonder… would he come if I killed you Lestrange?" The question was clinical, given casually, as if such an action would be easy. Bellatrix frowned before cocking her head.
"Kill me Frankenstein? You couldn't mana-" Her words ceased as a force slammed into her gut through the shield she summoned, and her mind registered that Adrian's wand moved. Panic erupted in her mind as her magic crackled around her, and pulsed in her blood, slowing the world down. Still Adrian's movements were blurs and it was only her skill and the fact that she had dueled her Lord that allowed her to survive his initial onslaught. Several spells splashed against her shield as she responded with six curses, each sizzling with black lightning, only to choke as the world shattered around her. She couldn't move as darkness settled in, and hundreds of red eyes opened around, judging her greedily.
"Foolish little girl. Killing you isn't even a challenge when you live in mere illusions. Illusions of grandeur, squandering the gift of Magic that you have been granted. You could have been great Bellatrix Lestrange. Instead you listened to a small man, who proclaimed himself Lord. You have not tasted real power. Real influence. You shall fall as you lived… in a world of illusions." Frankenstein's voice was all she heard as with a snap, her head twisted one hundred eighty degrees.
Fighting momentarily stopped when Adrian and Bellatrix engaged. From the outside, it looked as if it was even, as dozens of spells were exchanged between the two before Bellatrix was tagged by a white spell and she froze. Adrian huffed before snapping his fingers, and Rookwood watched in horror as Bellatrix's head twisted until her neck snapped. Without hesitation, he tore his sleeve and tapped the Dark Mark three times. He watched as it turned black, then red, then black once more, and he felt his magic tug. With a snap, he was magically replaced with his Lord, bypassing the wards with a runic switching spell variation that forced him to his knees in his Lord's quarters. Looking down, he frowned as he realized he was missing his left hand. "Splinched. Damn it. Luckily, that is easily fixed." With a tap of his wand, his hand slowly started to rematerialize. As soon as it fully appeared, he collapsed, exhausted.
"Shit." Rufus swore as he looked at Rookwood vanishing in a flash of red, only for that red to pulse twice before reforming into Voldemort himself. Voldemort surveyed the scene before him. Antonin was dueling Kingsley, Bellatrix was dead at the hands of Adrian Frankenstein, who stood staring at the Dark Lord with a mad smile. Nearly a dozen Death Eaters engaged the remaining Aurors, who numbered around twenty, and Azkaban laid in ruins.
"It seems that my faithful bit off more than they could chew with you, Frankenstein. No matter. And Rufus Scrimgeour, along with a large force of Aurors. Wonderful. I needed an audience to test out my capabilities." His eyes, red with a golden ring, dialated slightly as his arm blurred and spells flew towards Frankenstein.
Adrian smiled madly as Voldemort appeared. His heart pounded in his ears as He batted the first spells to the side, and returned fire. His illusions slowly layered themselves, and his crown pulsed with his magic as he tightened his mental hold on the so-called Dark Lord.
Voldemort laughed as he flexed his magic twice, effortlessly shattering the illusions that Adrian layered over him, making the doctor stumble. "You fool. You seek to trick Lord Voldemort? No… the only illusion that will be experienced is yours. Your illusion that you thought that you could match me." Shadows condensed around Voldemort before a serpent slowly rose from the shadows; its ink black body coiling around Voldemort's shoulders. With a lunge, the snake darted across the dozen meters between the wizards, biting Adrian's right shoulder, and ripping his arm from his body.
With a flick, Voldemort banished Frankenstein back, slamming him into a large piece of rubble, even as his smile disappeared. Adrian merely stood from the attack, his stump steaming as with an eruption of blood and a pulse of black from the circlet on his head, a new arm grew near instantly. Cracks could be heard as Frankenstein's bones reset themselves and the mad scientist smiled through bloody teeth.
"Come now Voldemort. I am FRANKENSTEIN! YOU CAN'T KILL ME!" Adrian flashed his wand up, only for the curse to slam into a blue lion head, that then dove at him. He shielded against the explosion, grunting as his glasses cracked from the pressure. Seven curses slammed into his body after two curses destroyed his shield, his organs liquifying, his bone breaking, and his blood turning into acid. All reversed nearly instantly by his body creating more Elixir of Everlasting within milliseconds. He coughed up the decaying organ meat, even as he forced himself up from his knees.
Voldemort knew the rumors were that Adrian Frankenstein was immortal. Hell, he had even ordered him captured at one point because of it. However, to witness the fact was another matter. He watched in wonder as the man recovered near instantly from damage that would kill any mere wizard. Those wounds would likely even kill him, yet the wizard before him shrugged it off like it was nothing. He didn't even stop the wizard from standing, wanting to see more of this regeneration. He did furrow his brow when Adrian pulled a star of iron that surrounded a blue crystal. His instincts screamed at him to stop whatever the man was doing, even as Adrian smashed the star with his fist.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" A flash of green blasted from his wand, covering the distance nearly instantly only to be stopped by a swirling maelstrom of blue flames, that snuffed out the green flash at the expense of itself, only to be replaced instantly. The flames kept gathering casting the island in a pale blue glow as a firm voice echoed across the island.
"Protego Diabolica." A blast wave of the fire erupted from the swirling flames as from them stepped Gellert Grindelwald himself. The wave was shielded by most, only a few succumbing to their wrath before they crashed against the war wards of Azkaban. Grindelwald looked no older than seventy, his body firm, and runes dancing endlessly on the exposed skin. He wore a full suit, baring the classic pants that were modified to taper towards his ankles. His boots, while stylish and matching the suit, were tight, and his hand was firm on the wand of his left hand, and the triangular shield on his right. The edges of that shield were razor sharp, even as the symbol of the Deathly Hollows formed of shifting runes danced on its surface.
Magic was heavy in the air as the two Dark Lords met each other's gaze. With certain steps, Grindelwald strode forward until he was a mere three meters from Voldemort. At this distance, anyone could see that they were of similar height.
In a blur, the two titans of magic engaged, without a single word spoken between them. Voldemort unleashed a trio of curses, all tinged in acid green, while Grindelwald batted one away with his shield even as he slashed his wand, a slashing curse slamming into a shield with enough force to drive Voldemort back a single step and bisect a Death Eater and an Auror that stood behind the Dark Lord.
Rufus yelled for his men to retreat, even as Antonin did the same for the Death Eaters as he shielded another spell from Kingsley. The fodder did as they were bid as the two Dark Lords continued to clash.
Grindelwald pulsed his magic frequently through his body, shifting the runes on his skin to form different arrays to counter curses that his shield could not. His wand flashed in a blur, spitting curses and charms like a machine gun, even as the very earth below his feet cracked from the magical power he was exuding. Voldemort matched him, blow for blow, spell for spell. Curses met each other in a flash of sparks, and shields stopped a spell only to be shattered a millisecond later by another. Coils of dark shadows lashed out, only to be countered by cackles of lighting that leaped from Grindelwald's shoulders like cats to bat each away.
Voldemort snarled in concentration as a star of red light condensed on his wand, before unleashing a fire so hot that it burned bright white. Fire countered as it was sucked into a rune that appeared in the air. Using the visibly rolling air, Grindelwald created pressurized lances of air to spear forward. Voldemort sank into his own shadow, avoiding the hyper-destructive attacks, before raising once more, even as the lances cratered the earth behind him. The two titans looked at each other before they both brought their magic itself to bear. The earth buckled, and the island shook as the two wizards began exchanging spells once more. Grindelwald, while older, held just as much power as Voldemort. However, where Voldemort excelled was combat. He lived it, breathed it and nearly even worshiped it. It was as instinctual for him to fight as it was for him to breathe. Grindelwald, however, had fought for decades, had mastered his style of combat, and flowed with every motion. The runes on his body made him a machine of magic; unyielding, unrelenting, ferocious, and precise. He countered curses with curses, deflected with bare margins, dancing on the edge of death with every exchange. Death was his friend, and he would one day be its Master after all.
Rufus stumbled to his feet, his limbs still twitching as he watched the island itself crumble and shake from the two fighting for superiority. Kingsley and a few Aurors remained, mostly injured. Kingsley was swiftly moving to activate their badge portkeys, hoping to save their lives. That was if the war wards didn't collapse on their heads as it looked like it may if the two continued to fight.
Grindelwald was aware entirely of the state of the war wards. They were meant to contain common entities and dementors and were straining under the magic of the two Dark Lords. Most wards would after all. The two were dueling with such strength that it was likely the island would sink into the sea. He smiled at the thought. He knew that Voldemort was strong, was dangerous even. But to see the whelp duel him like this… not even Albus was this good. It took him years to admit, but he finally did, sitting in his cell in Nurmengard.
He had let Albus win that day. He never wanted to kill him, nor did he think he would have had to. Albus had seemed fine with sitting on his island, teaching and guiding the masses from that position. While he had fought, tooth and nail to bring their reality to actuality. When Albus appeared in a ball of phoenix fire, on the cusp of his success, he thought that he was here to watch. When the first spell lashed out from Albus' wand, he knew that his first friend would fight him. It was a fabulous duel, getting his blood boiling just as it used to when they sparred in the back woods of Godric's Hollow. He had laughed when his friend had countered his signature spell, and when he had slain Albus' conjurations and transfigurations. He had smiled as the disarming spell slipped through his shield, and didn't bother to wandlessly summon the wand back.
It was too late anyway. The ritual time had passed, and it would be another year before it was time. He had failed. Even as he had been tied in robes, and placed within his own prison, he held no ill will towards Albus Dumbledore. He had believed, even as he escaped, that his biggest challenger would be his first friend.
That was before he crossed wands with Voldemort. He could tell that largely the man was self-taught. His form was highly customized to suit his particular style; swift darting motions, and overwhelming power-based spells while controlling the battlefield with area-of-effect magic. Voldemort was a walking war machine. He had clearly dived into rituals to increase his endurance, as already the two were dueling for close to half an hour, and there was no fatigue present. A flicker of apparition took him to the left to dodge a hail of cursed pebbles that would stick to and slowly dissolve his flesh, even as he countered with a rush of holy water, a spell he stole from Albus. The water surged forward, immune to the spells that Voldemort sent its way, before attempting to sweep him away. Tendrils of shadow lashed outwards from the Dark Lord and speared into the earth, tethering him even as he slashed his wand, cutting the surge in half. Grindelwald flicked a granite block into the path of a killing curse before they both paused and glanced to the left to see a flash of orange flames deposit two wizards into their midst.
Grindelwald immediately felt the difference in the air as the two appeared. The air was heavier, laden with magic just by their presence. The eldest was obvious to him, as it was his Albus. The other however was also obvious though not by his appearance, but by the hissing of his name by Voldemort.
"Potter."
He looked at the young Potter heir and understood immediately why Hermione Granger proclaimed him to be one that could stand against an army. He stood tall, his eyes laden with power and his magic draped over him like a cloak. It said much that even though he was not wearing that mask of his, he was not weak enough to buckle before the titans in front of him. In fact, he immediately began casting towards the wards, his fingers dancing with magic and his wand flashing. Grindelwald instantly felt the wards stabilize slightly, even as the boy's face gained a layer of sweat.
Albus strode forward, the Elder Wand held in his wrinkled hand. "Gellert. Tom. You both shouldn't have come here."
"I get to kill all my enemies at once. I fail to see why I shouldn't be here Dumbledore." Voldemort hissed as he flicked his eyes between the three of them. Gellert could see the urge to curse the Potter boy in his eyes, but he knew that the Dark Lord was restraining himself. After all, killing the boy right now would nearly guarantee that he would perish in the resulting war ward collapse.
"I too fail to see why I shouldn't be here, old friend. After all, my subordinate merely called me here." Grindelwald smiled serenely at Albus as he took a single step to this left, a step mirrored by his foes.
Albus shook his head slightly as he sighed. "I see you both fail to understand my words… I meant that this island will sadly be both of your tombs today."
Voldemort laughed, his high cold laughter cutting through the air even as a snake of shadows coiled around his shoulders. "Kill me Dumbledore? You haven't expressed that desire yet, and I doubt you have it now."
Gellert however did not laugh. Instead, he noticed something that made his blood freeze. "Truly old friend? You would, wouldn't you?" His face twisted in anger as he tightened his fist around his shield. "It wasn't enough that you took it from me. It wasn't enough that you ruined our dream. It wasn't enough to lock me away and forget about me. No, now you seek to ensure that I will never gain it back?! You are right my friend. Only one of us will be leaving this island alive." He lashed out, his wand singing through the air, as bolts of lightning slammed towards both foes, the ground sinking as both countered in their own ways. Voldemort's shadow snake struck the bolt, erupting in an explosion that shook the earth, while Dumbledore flashed in a haze of grey magic and the bolt flew threw him. Lions erupted from the earth with a flick of Albus' wand, dozens attacking at once, only to be vaporized by a shockwave from Voldemort. Voldemort then unleashed a surge of black spikes toward the Hogwarts headmaster and unleash a hellish rain of curses towards Grindelwald. Gellert started to pivot and dart through the barrage, blasting several aside with his shield before a golem of earth erupted in front of him. A golem that absorbed three curses from Voldemort before being beheaded by the razor-sharp edge of Grindelwald's shield. The island bucked as the headmaster and Voldemort's spells collided with a sound louder than a thunderclap. Visible shockwaves shook the dust in the air as shields shattered under spells. Fire whips cracked against shadows and lightning limbs even as runes absorbed cursed fire and blessed water.
It was Voldemort who broke the stalemate, as a single slash barely clipped Albus, drawing blood. A wound that the Dark Lord zeroed in on, deciding that Albus was the weakest of the combatants. A fact that was obvious the longer the duel continued. Albus was old and had not partaken in the rituals that the other two had, he was slowly weakening, and even with the Elder Wand, was losing ground. Gellert hardened his heart, and as Albus was fending off Voldemort's assault took aim at his friend.
"Avada Kedavra."
A flash of green raced across the field, only to be swallowed by a flash of phoenix fire, as Fawkes swallowed the killing curse, and immediately reverted to a chick. However, Gellert knew Albus. Knew him better than even himself. With a slash of his wand, A bloody furrow opened on Albus' back, and a piercing curse slammed into Voldemort's shoulder, as both reacted to the death of the Phoenix differently. Ironically, the curse of Grindelwald saved Albus from the killing curse of Voldemort as it drove him to the left, as the curse passed over his head.
Albus panted as he bled. He knew it was likely going to end in his death when he engaged them both, but he had hoped… He shook his head. It does not do to dwell on dreams Albus. He mentally chided himself as he held himself up to his full height. He glanced at the wand in his hand and sighed. He had hoped to pass it on to Harry. However, circumstances dictated differently as his brother would say. He idly thought of what Aberforth would say if he saw him now. Probably to stop holding back and fight like their sister.
Ariana was always the best of them; an obscurus with remarkable control, she fought against herself for most of her life. Only lashing out when her loved ones weren't happy, Ariana's death was the largest reason he hated killing. He was unsure of who cast the piercing curse that killed her, as it was a slow death, and all had cast it at some point, he knew in his heart it was his.
Kinslayer Albus. He smiled sardonically, knowing that it was only mentally he was called such. He flicked a boulder into existence, before banishing it towards Voldemort, transfiguring it into a pair of lions to dodge a curse before reverting the transfiguration and allowing it to slam into the Dark Lord. The casual display of the transfiguration technique only takes a few milliseconds. Milliseconds that Gellert took advantage of and slammed a bone breaker into his non-wand shoulder. A curse that Gellert paid for when a hex exploded into his sternum with such force it broke all but one of his ribs.
The three stood in a triangular formation, each being injured from their brawl. In the background, Harry still fought with the wards, trying to keep them from collapsing even as Kingsley finally got the last injured Auror to safety before leaving himself. Rufus Scrimgeour didn't leave yet, wanting to see this through to the end, even though Harry locked eyes with him and mouthed for him to leave. The Head Auror shook his head sadly, before pointing his wand at Voldemort.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
A flash of Green and Rufus Scrimgeour fell, as Voldemort turned his attention back towards Albus and Gellert.
"While this was entertaining. I believe it is time I kept my word. Speora Bombarda Maxima." Voldemort spoke the spell with a sinister smile as he pointed his wand at the very ground between the three. The bright blue of the bombarda maxima shot from his wand, with twin tails spiraling behind it. It sank into the earth and then exploded. Voldemort started to laugh as the wards started to collapse in, their anchor deep in the sea bed damaged by the explosion.
Harry frantically added more tendrils of his magic to try to stop the wards from imploding, knowing it was only a stopgap measure. When the wards imploded, it would likely have enough magical backlash to cause untold amounts of damage. It was why war wards were not standardly active. Their collapse was a catastrophic event.
Gellert wordlessly summoned Hermione and Adrian to him, even as he blocked spell fire from both Voldemort and Albus. Both seemed determined to have him die on this island.
"Professor! I can't hold these much longer!" Gellert heard Potter speak before he saw Albus frown and nod. Grindelwald's heart started to race and he frantically started to cast runes. "Albus! You are a fool if you are going to attempt this! It will kill you!"
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore smiled as he raised the Elder wand high. "I know it will my old friend. But it will also save so many." With his free hand, he tore a phoenix-shaped crystal from his throat and threw it at the chick form of Fawkes. As it smashed against the ground, the chick was bathed in purple fire and a phoenix song hung in the air. A fully grown phoenix flew from the purple flames, raced towards Harry Potter snagging him firmly in his talons, and flashing out. All while a flashing white beam erupted from the Elder wand, and white particles erupted from Albus' body.
"You old fool, what are you doing!?" Voldemort spat as a killing curse erupted from his wand. All parties were enraptured when the curse, instead of racing forward, crawled forward, barely covering a meter at a time. With a simple step, the curse was dodged by the Headmaster, even as more white magic blasted out of the Elder wand.
"Family Magic Tom. Did you ever wonder why I never used it against you?" Dumbledore asked serenely, as he started to glow in bright white light.
Gellert muttered under his breath that Albus couldn't, but it went unheard by the Dark Lord.
"You see Tom, my family was infamous for one branch of magic. I am a once in a generational talent with a wand. My brother, while not as academically inclined, was no slouch either. My father was a brilliant wizard, of that there is no doubt. His father was not as brilliant, but fantastic with a wand never less. But what we all have in common… is that when it comes to dimensional magic, there is no one as good as the Dumbledores. It runs in our blood. Before we are taught potions or transfiguration, curses or charms, we are taught the rules of planes and fissures, planar distortions, and dimension bubbles. We are taught the dos and do-nots. So you asked what I am doing?"
Albus Dumbledore smiled widely, his half-moon spectacles glistening in the light of his own body. "I am going to stop these wards by shifting them into another realm. And I am taking everyone here with me." The Elder wand in his hands slowly dissolved into white light as did all the parts of Albus' body. His very magic and identity were powering this spell, and he slowly shifted into a being of pure white energy, only recognizable as Dumbledore by his long beard and half-moon spectacles. He flashed bright white.
Gellert finished the last rune, just as Dumbledore flashed bright white. With a flash of blue fire, Gellert Adrian, Hermione, and a chunk of the earth within the runic circle that Gellert created vanished. Voldemort sank into his swiftly diminishing shadow, even as all-encompassing white light consumed the entirety of Azkaban Island.
Fawkes flashed back into existence with Harry on the cliffs that were within sight of the Magical Prison. Normally the wards would stop anyone from seeing the prison, however, such a thing was a nonfactor, as the area was simply a dome of white light. Harry could feel the magic involved all the way from here. Finally, the dome flashed brightly, blinding him.
When he finally blinked away the spots in his vision, he could see that the island of Azkaban, and several kilometers of the sea around it, were gone.
And so was Albus Dumbledore.
AN: So... that was a thing. I moved to a new state again. It took a bit to unpack enough to proofread this chapter between that and work. But I digress. Here is the chapter, and the next one is the fallout. Before you ask, read the next chapter to find out who survived.
Stay cool in this heatwave, and until next time.
Zero