Voldemort's eyes widened in sheer terror as the powerful voice echoed through the Wizengamot hall. He recognized the voice in an instant. There was no mistaking that voice. He could recognize it even with his eyes closed. Even in his dreams. It was the voice of Albus Dumbledore. The only man whom Voldemort was wary of. Or better to say, the only man whom Voldemort feared.
Voldemort's mind spun as he calculated his next move. He raised his wand and slashed it toward Antonio. A red flash erupted from the tip, soaring through the air towards Antonio.
Voldemort knew he did not have much time, perhaps only a moment or two before Albus Dumbledore would appear inside the hall.
He lacked the confidence to face Dumbledore, even when he was being strengthened by the runic triangle, especially since he had not mentally prepared himself for such a confrontation. Voldemort would not admit it but he was fearful of the man. Fearful of Albus Dumbledore.
In those fleeting seconds, he wanted to finish his unfinished business. He wanted to kill Antonio Olario.
Antonio had the potential to become one of the greatest obstacles in his path. Voldemort realized that if he, and more than him, the circumstances, had not forced Antonio to use that one spell which consumed the bulk of his reserves, it would have been nearly impossible to reduce him to this state and then kill him.
And Voldemort refused to miss this opportunity. There was no guarantee he would ever find Antonio in such a state of vulnerability again. Letting him go today would be like releasing a wounded tiger and Voldemort knew a wounded tiger was a dangerous one. And in the final moment that he had, Voldemort decided to go for the kill. And he was fairly confident that he would be successful.
The spell raced toward Antonio, and Minerva readied herself to intercept it. She knew that the curse, though ordinary in appearance, was anything but ordinary and simple. It was extraordinarily powerful, and stopping it would be difficult, perhaps impossible for her.
Even so, she was willing to give everything. Like Voldemort, she too had recognized the voice, and she knew she only had to stop this single strike. After that Albus was surely going to strike.
She clenched her wand, but before she could weave her counter-spell, there was a blinding flash of white light.
A sharp beam descended from above the Wizengamot hall and struck Voldemort's spell. There was no massive explosion, no loud boom, nor even the slightest visual reaction after the collision. The moment the white beam struck, Voldemort's curse simply vanished into thin air without leaving a trace. It just disappeared.
Meanwhile, the white spell continued unobstructed, as if the red curse had been nothing more than butter being cut by a hot knife. The light struck the floor of the Wizengamot, and again, the unexpected happened. There was no explosion, no rubble, and no shattering of the stone. Instead, the spell bounced off the floor like a rubber ball and dissipated harmlessly into the air. This was a profound display of the genius, exceptional and brilliant control that Albus Dumbledore had over his magic.
There was another ripple in the air as Albus Dumbledore appeared in the Wizengamot hall, standing beside the kneeling and barely conscious Antonio Olario.
"Voldemort," Dumbledore said, his voice stern and his eyes narrowed on the Dark Lord. "You have run wild for too long. It is time to step back."
"Albus Dumbledore," Voldemort hissed. "I did not expect that you would be back so soon."
"Oh!" Albus remarked. "About that."
"You made a brilliant plan," he continued. "But you made a small strategic mistake. You overlooked the fact that I, as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, also possess a connection to the wards of the Ministry. The moment I lost that connection, I knew something was wrong."
"Thanks to my instincts, I decided I must return as quickly as possible," he said. "And to my shock, when I arrived, I found that you had invaded the Ministry of Magic itself."
"But," Dumbledore said, his voice heavy with sadness as his eyes shifted toward the charred corpse of Edmund Bones, then to Minerva, and finally to Antonio Olario. "It seems that I was still a bit late."
Voldemort did not respond. He knew he could do nothing more, and he knew better than to provoke Albus Dumbledore further. Without a word, his figure began to blur as he started to Apparate from the hall.
"Not so soon," Dumbledore countered, moving with blinding speed as a spell erupted from his wand.
A loud, soul-piercing shriek echoed through the chamber just as the last of the Death Eaters vanished. A gruesome sight remained. The lower half of a man's body, severed at the waist, was left behind while the upper half had successfully Apparated. It was another Death Eater, certainly not Voldemort. He had survived.
A stunned silence fell over the hall as the survivors began to digest the events of the last few moments. Albus Dumbledore had appeared out of nowhere, and Voldemort had fled, almost as if in fear. They could not be sure, but the tension and nervousness in Voldemort when facing Albus Dumbledore was undeniable. They had seen and felt it clearly.
As the confrontation ended, a collective sigh of relief swept through the room. The immediate danger hanging over their necks had finally dissipated. Shoulders slumped and bodies relaxed, but even as they rejoiced in their survival, a new question loomed. Now what?
They could no longer hide behind false pretenses or excuses. The Dark Lord had come knocking on their very door. The threat was no longer a distant rumor. They had to act. They had to make decisions.
Dumbledore turned toward Antonio and Minerva.
"Minerva," Dumbledore said, his voice softening with genuine concern. "I was not expecting to find you standing directly against Voldemort."
Minerva nodded, the same relief washing over her face, though she remained silent.
"Lord Olario," Dumbledore said, turning his attention to the kneeling man.
"Headmaster Dumbledore..." The words had barely left Antonio's mouth before his strength finally failed him, and he slipped into unconsciousness.
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