Who could stand against Voldemort?
Dumbledore.
Albus Dumbledore.
Only him.
Only the greatest wizard in the world could oppose the most evil Dark Lord.
Just as Professor McGonagall and the others had always believed, as long as Dumbledore was still there, Hogwarts would be safe.
That was what the students believed as well. Their Dumbledore still existed.
Hogwarts was split into two sides.
On one side were the attackers led by Voldemort; on the other were the defenders formed by the students.
The giants quieted down, and the dark creatures lay in wait within the shadows, ready to strike.
Hogwarts was besieged on all sides, and they had only one hope.
"I will give you a choice, one that allows you to continue living in this world."
The high-pitched, piercing voice echoed throughout Hogwarts. Voldemort held victory firmly in his grasp.
"Show me your sincerity. Start with the Chosen One—hand him over."
Voldemort remembered his prophecy, though compared to immortality, it now seemed insignificant.
"We have already won. More than half of your resistance has been wiped out. My forces outnumber yours several times over. There is no need to keep struggling in vain. Men, women, and children alike—anyone who resists will be killed."
He intended to utterly crush Hogwarts' unrealistic hope—whether it was that so-called Chosen One or Dumbledore himself.
"Send out your savior. I will shatter your final hope."
"Like a duel. This is your only choice."
Voldemort's voice echoed through Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall and the other two were wounded; Professor Sprout covered her mouth.
Hogwarts fell into silence. Hagrid had been captured.
Forced to kneel there, he was unable to break free with more than a dozen giants surrounding him.
Beyond the blasted oak doors, the students slowly stepped forward.
Hermione grabbed Harry's hand, her voice nearly pleading. "Please, Harry. Don't."
Ron blocked him as well.
Not just the two of them—every Gryffindor student begged Harry not to go.
Harry clenched his wand and said with grim resolve, "This is my destiny."
He pulled free of Hermione's hand and walked past Ron, ignoring Seamus and Dean's attempts to stop him.
Only he understood the situation now.
Dumbledore was poisoned. Voldemort held absolute superiority. Only he could step forward.
The one who fights to protect is the Chosen One.
The crowd parted, opening a path, and Harry walked out through it.
Professor McGonagall cried out in alarm, "Don't go, Harry."
"This is something I have to do," Harry said firmly to her.
He stepped out of the Entrance Hall.
At times, he had seemed immature, too impulsive, too driven by emotion.
But he was only sixteen years old.
At that age, he stepped forward without hesitation to be the one to face death.
"Why does it have to be this way?" the more emotional among them wept.
Voldemort was delighted to see Harry come out.
"Come here, yes," Voldemort's narrow eyes swept over Harry as he said coldly, "Harry Potter, the savior who defeated the Dark Lord?"
Voldemort roared, "A lie!"
"A lie that deceived you for fifteen years."
"You think you can stand against me?" Voldemort let out a laugh dripping with mockery. "You still remember how to duel, don't you, Harry Potter?"
Just like in the graveyard back then, Voldemort and Harry stood facing each other.
Harry's heart thudded painfully. He clenched his wand, yet didn't dare grip it too tightly.
The muscles in his arm were stretched so taut that even lifting it felt difficult.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Expelliarmus!"
They struck at the same time, green and red lightning colliding midair.
A dazzling burst of light flared—but the outcome was completely one-sided.
Without the aid of twin wand cores, Harry had no way to contend with a master who had wielded Dark Magic for decades.
Even so, stripped of every halo that came with being the Chosen One, Harry Potter was still a brave Gryffindor.
The green light surged toward him, closing the distance in the span of a single breath, reaching the tip of his wand.
Its glow washed Harry's face in a ghastly green.
Crushed by the overwhelming power, he was forced to grip his wand with both hands, slowly pressed down to one knee.
"Yes! Yes! Kneel, Harry!"
Voldemort's voice rang in his ears, filled with cruel delight.
Just as the green light was about to swallow Harry whole, a beautiful song rose, stirring the heart.
Harry's resolve could not bridge the vast gap in strength. The green light was about to engulf him—When a phoenix descended from the sky, its body ablaze, taking the fatal green light into itself.
Flames erupted before Harry's eyes. His wand was scorched black as he hurriedly reached out to catch the falling chick.
Voldemort was not alarmed, but delighted, laughing loudly. "Dumbledore, you finally show yourself."
Under the hopeful gazes of the crowd, Dumbledore stepped out of Hogwarts.
Voldemort's eyes immediately went to Dumbledore's hand. Less than a night had passed, and already three of his fingers had turned black.
They radiated decay, death, and a curse steeped in malice.
Snape stood among the crowd, his gaze fixed on Harry lying on the ground.
Dumbledore said in a low voice, "Let us face each other once more, Tom."
"Hmph! Dumbledore," Voldemort said coldly, "you are only one step away from death. You should regret it—always."
It was unclear whether Voldemort meant Dumbledore's refusal to let him become the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, or something else entirely.
"I have always lived with regret," Dumbledore replied calmly, "but not because of you."
He raised his wand with measured composure.
The two strongest wizards of the age clashed for the third time.
Unlike their battle at the Ministry, this time Voldemort held the advantage.
Voldemort struck first, a streak of green light shooting toward Dumbledore.
Dumbledore flicked his wand silently, sending shattered statues flying up to shield him.
A second green light came in, and a shield dropped from the sky to block it.
It was Hagrid's shield.
The third green light followed. Dumbledore swung his wand, and lightning lashed across the ground in two thick whips, disrupting Voldemort's casting.
When two top-tier wizards clashed, every second was filled with lethal danger.
Dumbledore no longer held back. He knew all too well that the Voldemort before him was not someone he could face while reserving strength.
They went all out. Between them, a red-green band of light rose up, linking the two together.
The light gradually shifted to blue. The surging magic it released caused the stones on the ground to lift and form a magical field.
A massive ring of wind took shape around them.
Like an enormous meat grinder, the ground was shredded by the magic, pulverized into dust that was drawn into the wind ring, forming a towering vortex.
Voldemort flicked his free hand, and stones shot out from the wind ring, slamming relentlessly toward Dumbledore.
Dumbledore raised his left hand as well. The incoming stones formed a new wind ring around him, countering the continuous magical assault.
One wind ring contracted while the other expanded.
When the two collided, the violent magical shockwave sent everyone flying.
The connection between Dumbledore and Voldemort snapped.
Voldemort pointed his wand at the ground and traced a circle around himself.
Dense fog surged upward from the circle, and countless bats burst forth from within, swarming toward Dumbledore.
Dumbledore swung his wand in a wide arc. Flames erupted from its tip, scorching the bats and sending them falling from the air.
The poison in his arm crept further up along his veins. All four fingers had now turned black.
Once again, the exchange ended in a deadlock.
Burning bats fell from the sky.
This time, Dumbledore took the initiative. Four towering columns of water rose from the Black Lake, shot into the air, and merged into a massive torrent that surged toward Voldemort.
Voldemort slashed his wand through the flow. The water froze instantly. With a flick of his other hand, the ice shattered into countless arrow-like shards that streaked toward Hogwarts.
Dumbledore raised his defenses, and the ice arrows dissolved into icy sand as they fell.
In the next instant, Voldemort took to the air.
A massive green light crashed down from above toward Dumbledore.
Dumbledore lifted his wand and fired back, meeting it head-on.
The green light pressed down on Dumbledore's magic, forcing it steadily lower.
Dumbledore took a step back. That single step was like the final straw breaking the camel's back.
His entire right hand turned black. From his right shoulder, blackened veins crawled upward toward his neck.
The searing, terrifying pain drove Dumbledore back once more.
Just as Voldemort had said, no one could withstand such agony.
His magic was being eroded relentlessly. With his remaining strength, Dumbledore forced himself to hold the attack back.
The two beams of light exploded in the sky, shattering the windows of Hogwarts.
Centered on Hogwarts, the ground seemed to sink suddenly. Ripples spread across the Black Lake, swelling from behind into massive waves that crashed against the shore.
Dumbledore struggled to remain standing, but the poison wracked him with unbearable pain.
The color drained rapidly from his face, and black blood spilled from his mouth.
Dumbledore had been defeated.
Voldemort had defeated Dumbledore.
It was something the teachers and students of Hogwarts could scarcely accept.
Their hope had fallen.
"You were too merciful, Dumbledore."
Voldemort descended slowly, gently stroking the wand in his hand.
"You should never have spared Theodore. It was precisely because of your mercy—because you insisted on kindness even toward traitors—that I was given this opportunity."
Admiring Dumbledore's defeated state, Voldemort burst into laughter.
"Dumbledore has fallen."
Hogwarts' final hope was extinguished.
Whether it was the Chosen One or the greatest wizard of all,
both had been defeated, defeated by Voldemort.
"Now, come out of the castle and kneel before me."
Voldemort continued, "You will be granted amnesty. Your parents, your children, your brothers and sisters will all be spared. You will live on, and together with me, you will enter the new world we are about to build."
"A new Hogwarts. A new magical world!"
Hogwarts was deathly silent as despair spread through it.
Hogwarts had fallen.
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