45 Chapter 45

Chapter 45

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

The famed Headmaster of Hogwarts sat in his office as he once more stared at the only possible solution to his Horcrux problem. The solution was risky. No, it was very risky.

Of all the rules employed by the Ministry over the years, he found several useless and baseless, yet even Albus Dumbledore understood that the ban on the exploration of advanced rituals was one of the more reasonable restrictions placed by the Ministry.

"You don't seem convinced, Albus. Though I can assure you. If you want to keep the boy alive, there is no other solution apart from this," spoke Gellert from the side as he rifled through his vast book collection. Today Gellert had come to his office to meet a certain new Professor, the very same young professor with whom he shared a mysterious connection.

"I know that, but you must see how dangerous this is, Gellert. The only time any magician succeeded in summoning Death itself was centuries ago. Centuries. And even then, little is known on how the Peverells succeeded in doing so, for all the records of their times have been purged, and all that's left that single tale," replied Albus with a sigh. Gellert smiled as he placed the book he had been reading back on the shelf and looked towards him.

"That was always your problem, Albus," said his old rival as he strode slowly to the seat before him.

"You have always had a fascinating understanding of magic, yet you fail to see it for the living mystical being it is," began Gellert, his eyes bright and glowing, reminding Albus of simpler times, of times when they were young and ambitious and filled with raw curiosity.

"Magic has always been alive. Your Dark Lord's actions aren't just against human nature. They go against the very fabric of magic itself," began Gellert, and Albus's mind went to his recent encounter with Voldemort, and a part of him agreed with Gellert.

"Magic reviles him, considers its very existence a taint against its majesty. Yet it cannot act by itself; no, it needs a conduit. And this ritual will provide us with one. A chance for it to return balance to nature itself and destroy the taint that is Voldemort" finished Albus with a flourish leaning back in his chair. And Albus frowned as he looked down at the paper once more.

A part of him was still skeptical, yet it seemed like he had no choice.

"We shouldn't rush this. Let me look into it a bit more before I decide on it," said Albus as he folded the pieces of paper and placed them in his pocket. Gellert's eyes focused on his arm, the injured one at his words before the man slowly spoke up.

"I don't believe you can afford to wait for much longer, Albus," Albus's eyes focused on his injured arm again, and the same thoughts ran through his mind. Gellert was right. At all his might, he could do nothing except hold Tom back, yet now, with this injury, he wasn't sure he could do that now.

"If Voldemort attacks again, I am not sure you could face him as an equal. Perhaps, if I could fi…." But Albus cut him off.

"NO!" and Gellert stopped as Albus's eyes narrowed at Gellert.

"You swore to me, Gellert, and you will not break it. You will not touch a wand; otherwise, I will have you sent back to Nurmengard even if it's the last thing I do!" said Albus with finality in his tone, and Gellert's eyes narrowed at him before the man sighed and nodded slowly.

"Plus, Voldemort himself is injured, which gives us some time. The time that you will use to train Edward Wright," Albus reminded him of his other arrangement, and Gellert nodded with a small smile.

"Yes, and where is the intriguing young man? I must say I am quite excited to see him," spoke Gellert as he glanced at the clock. And the clock arms had hit twelve, meaning Edward would be here anytime now.

"He will be here any minute now. I believe he has entered the castle grounds," Albus spoke as he felt the disturbance in the wards. And Gellert nodded before his eyes focused on him once more.

"You really believe that the boy could step into your shoes? That he could face Voldemort as an equal," and Albus thought of all he had seen from the young man and nodded.

"Yes, I do. You can call it a teacher's intuition," and Gellert smirked as suddenly they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Professor, may I come in," Albus smiled as he saw Gellert vanish into the shadowy corner of his office as Albus replied.

"Please, do come in, Mr. Wright."

0000

EDWARD WRIGHT

"Please do come in, Mr. Wright." And the door swung open, and Edward stepped into the Headmaster's office again, though this time he wasn't a student.

He saw the Headmaster smile at him as he walked towards the chairs.

"I must say, coming here feels a bit different now that I have graduated," said Edward as the Headmaster motioned for him to sit.

"I hope you mean that in a good way, for with your new position, I believe you will be visiting this office quite regularly," and Edward nodded as he was once more reminded of his new employment as Hogwart's youngest professor.

"And what do we know, one day you might even be sitting in my chair," said Professor Dumbledore with a smile, and he just shook his head.

"I hope not. My plan is to have an early retirement and enjoy life. So, why did you call for me, Professor? There is still about a month left till the term starts, so I doubt it is about that," Edward decided to get straight to the point.

He still had two weeks to prepare the lesson plans, and though he was done with half of them, he could instinctively tell that this call wasn't regarding that issue. And the shift in Dumbledore's demeanor all but confirmed his suspicion.

"Indeed, I have called you here due to some different issues. One of them is this letter I received from Miss Delacour," and Edward picked up the letter as Albus smiled.

"She has accepted my offer and will be joining us as my apprentice here in Hogwarts. Though, I believe you must be already aware of it," and Edward nodded. Fleur had told him about the letter and was actually set to arrive within a week.

"Yes, she had told me," he replied as he put the letter back on the table, and Dumbledore nodded. And suddenly, Edward felt a gaze pouring onto him. His eyes narrowed, and he glanced back and looked around the office, yet the feeling didn't go away.

He could feel something wrong, yet as Dumbledore coughed and he looked forward at the Headmaster once again, though inside his hold on his wand tightened.

"And I believe the next topic concerns your magical prowess, more specifically, your ability to face Voldemort," and Edward frowned at those words.

"What do you mean, Professor?" he questioned as Dumbledore took off his glasses and began slowly.

"My last duel with Voldemort has left us both injured. And while my recovery remains hampered by Voldemort regains his strength by the day and will soon be at his best again," said Dumbledore in a grave voice. And Edward stiffened at those words.

"And in that sense, I believe we must use this time to utmost effect. You are the only person apart from me who can stand up to him, yet as strong and powerful as you are. There still exists a gap between you and Voldemort," and Edward nodded slowly at those words. Edward knew that he could probably hold Tom off for an hour at his current level, a feat few could accomplish.

Yet that also meant that he knew that there was little chance of him succeeding in killing him at his current level. He was working towards it, but there was little that he could do by himself. And the way this conversation was going, it seemed Dumbledore had reached the same conclusion.

"So, are you going to help me train, Professor," asked Edward trying to make sense of their conversation, and to his surprise, the Headmaster shook his head.

"I am afraid the difference in our styles makes it so that my teachings will do little to benefit you," and Edward frowned at those words. However, Dumbledore continued.

"However, I believe there is someone more suited than me who could help you in your journey," and suddenly Edward's senses screamed at him, and in an instant, he as out of the chair, his wand in his hand as he aimed it at the shadow from where he had senses that uninvited presence.

"Who are you!" Edward shouted as his wand lit up, and suddenly there was the sound of chuckling before a shadowy silhouette stepped out of the shadows, and Edward's frown vanished, and his eyes widened as he saw those dichromatic eyes focused on him. For as per his knowledge, there was only ever a single wizard with eyes like that.

"Hahaha, it seems you recognize me," said the man as he completely stepped out of the shadow, and Edward was lost for words. And then he turned to look at Dumbledore, who still sat in his chair.

"Edward, meet the person who will train you to face Voldemort. He is perhaps the best person for the job. The man whose dueling style inspired your own, Gellert Grindelwald," and many thoughts were going through his mind, yet the only words that came out of his mouth were.

"What the hell is he doing here!"

0000

LUCIUS MALFOY

The Malfoy manor had been serving as their base of operations for about a year now. And with each passing day, the seeds of doubt in his heart grew stronger as he watched Voldemort ravish their lives.

And it was on this day that the straw finally broke, and Lucius would wholeheartedly admit that he had chosen the wrong side. Yet he could do nothing about it now. Nothing at all as he watched his son standing there with several other of his friends, pale and nervous as they waited for their Lord's summon.

His dear Draco was pale, much like the rest of the kids, and turned to face him, nervousness and fear clearly visible in those eyes. Lucius's heart broke as he could do nothing but give his son a fake smile and nod slowly as dread pooled in his heart for his son's future.

Suddenly he saw Draco's eyes shift to the side, and Lucius turned and found his wife standing there looking at their son. Her face was cold, and only their years of marriage allowed him to glimpse at the anger and pain on her face.

"What does he want with those kids?" she whispered as he held her hand and felt her nails pushing into his own as she nervously glanced at the door to their main Hall.

"I don't know, but we must trust the dark lord," spoke Lucius, slowly trying to reassure her, yet he knew in his heart that he himself didn't believe in those words. Narcissa scoffed at those words, wrung her hand out of his, and shook her head.

"You want me to trust him with the life of our son. Our only son!" she nearly shouted, and Lucius's heart shook at her words. But what choice did they have? He looked at her.

"There is no other choice Narcissa," he said in a resigned tone, and before she could reply, the door opened, and his heart nearly gave out as someone walked out of the room and as he saw those infamous black locks and that gaunt face, he felt Narcrissa stiffen beside her as Bellatrix's eyes landed at them.

She smiled, and that smile sent shivers down his spine, and then she turned towards the assembled Hogwarts students and spoke in her usual fanatic manner.

"Be honored that the Dark Lord is granting you a chance to serve him. Go in. He is waiting for you all," and he stiffened at her words. And saw his son Draco look towards him, yet as before, he could do nothing but give her son an encouraging nod and pray in her heart as he watched him vanish behind those haunting pair of doors.

Bellatrix closed the door and walked towards them, smiling fanatically, and he noticed all emotions vanish from his wife's face as her sister walked up to her.

"Cissa! It's so good to see you! You have no idea how much I missed you!" said Bellatrix as she hugged her younger sister. He saw Narcrissa stiffen as Bellatrix wrapped her arms around her tightly.

"I missed you too, Bella! I am sorry that I couldn't come to meet you earlier. I was out of the country and just returned today with Draco," and he saw a crazed look appear in those eyes as Bellatrix separated from Narcissa.

"Ahh! Little Draco has grown up so much since the last time I saw him. He was such a small thing, always crying for his mommy. You must be so proud of him that he gets an opportunity to serve our Lord like this!" he saw her wife's Occlumency shields go up as a mechanical smile appeared on her face as she replied.

"Indeed I am. I am quite proud of my son!"

0000

Severus Snape stood in Albus's office as the night raged on. Dumbledore had told him of the special connection between Harry and Voldemort, and the information had shocked him a bit. And when it seemed like all his sacrifice and effort would be for naught, Dumbledore had assured him that he was looking for a solution. And now the thing was that Voldemort was also aware of the prophecy and seemed to be planning something big. Something very big that involved Hogwarts itself.

He had assured Narcissa that he would try to look out for her son, yet the Dark Lord was extremely secretive with his new plan and hadn't shared it with anyone.

"Why have you called for me, Albus?" he asked in an annoyed tone. He had been busy preparing lesson plans for the incoming year. Albus stood there staring at the castle grounds below. At his question, the man turned to face him.

"I wanted to inform you that I have found a solution to Harry's problem," Severus's eyes widened at that, and relief filled him. Yet he quickly put his Occlumency shields as he continued.

"And what about Voldemort? With him now aware of the full prophecy, he will still target Harry," and Albus shook his head.

"The solution will take care of that too, though I believe for it all to a word I will be in need of something from you," and the Headmaster turned to face him. And Severus nodded.

"What do you need, Albus," and silence reigned in the office before Dumbledore uttered the final words.

"Nagini. To save Harry and eliminate Voldemort once and for all, we must destroy all his Horcruxes first. And the only one that remains is Nagini," and Severus stiffened at those words.

Nagini never left Voldemort's side. And to kill it meant only one thing for him.

Death. Or at least a very high probability of Death or a fate even worse than that. Yet it would end it all. It would save Lily's son and end Voldemort once and for all. The potion master closed his eyes as he thought of all his life's regrets, thought of those auburn red locks and those bright green eyes, and he hardened his heart as he looked at Albus and nodded his head.

"I will do it!"

0000

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