The Advent of War

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Dumbledore rushed out of Wizengamot amidst people calling for him— some angry, others concerned, but he ignored those voices and hurried towards where he could hear explosions and shouting.

What he had seen inside the minds was mere a glimpse. Just a little conversation between people talking about the gossip they had heard from their peers in the Death Eater circle, But it was enough to send alarms blaring in his mind, and as the explosions got louder, the heavy feeling in the bottom of his heart started to become heavier by the second.

He could hear the footsteps of multiple people behind him. Among those, James Potter rushed to his side. "Dumbledore! What is happening?!" said the man he had been having a difficult time with.

"Death Eaters are attacking the ministry," said Dumbledore somberly.

"They're doing what?!" came another voice that Dumbledore identified as Sirius Black. "Why would they do that?!"

"Isn't it obvious," James scoffed. "Because of today's bill."

Dumbledore turned to glance back for a moment to glance at the number of people who had followed him out of Wizengamot. Many from the Light Faction, most of them from the Order of Phoenix, had followed him. And hearing the short exchange between them made his thoughts turn momentarily complicated. A substantial part of the Light Faction supported today's bill and wanted lethal action against the Death Eater. He himself didn't oppose such actions knowing it was the necessity of the war, but he also knew that many were awaiting these sanctions with zealous eyes. That worried him. He could foresee a near future where Aurors and Hit Wizard would actively start searching for encounters with Death Eaters to 'put them down,' and it was inevitable that some people would get injured and, worse, lose their lives in such pursuits. He was hesitant to let the bill pass in its current stage, which lacked some crucial, much-needed restrictions.

He could see the Robards and Scrimgeour tagging along at the back with an ensemble of Aurors following them. That itself worried him. If before, he could influence some restrictions, after this, there would be no chance he could make any suggestions that would protect unnecessary blood from being spilled. Good blood from being spilled.

"Dumbledore." He turned back and saw Scrimgeour had made his way to the front. "If you would be so kind as to share something with this lowly Head of DMLE, I would be eternally grateful to your greater personage."

"There's no need to be like that, Scrimgeour," said Dumbledore. "As you might've already expected, Death Eaters have attacked the Ministry."

"Like before?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, not like before. They have come in person this time." While he couldn't see it, Dumbledore knew that Scrimgeour was glaring daggers at him— he wasn't supposed to know anything about the Death Eater bomb incident.

"I hope you've already alerted all the Aurors and the Hit Wizards."

"I have called for backup," said Scrimgeour, but Dumbledore heard Scrimgeour speak something to an Auror beside him, who moved away from the group, ". . . is the situation really that severe?" finished Scrimgeour.

"It is. They're in the main atrium with innocent people in danger. They might. . . definitely must have taken hostages, so it is imperative that we proceed with caution."

"We will. I'll have a team of Aurors trained in hostage situations ready to be deployed. They'll ensure that the hostages make it out safe without giving the Death Eaters a chance to move a finger—"

"No, I'll handle it. Your people can come in after me."

Scrimgeour's eyes turned cold. "Dumbledore, don't overstep your bounds—"

"If it was any other situation, I would've not suggested something like this, but this is the best course of action in this situation."

"And why is that?"

"Because Voldemort himself out there."

Everyone who was following Dumbledore froze up as if every single one of them had been hit with a Body Bind Spell. All faltered to a pause and fell multiple steps behind Dumbledore, who didn't give them a look back.

"Some of you were there during the last war and know the danger of such situations where life and death are separated by a very fine line— a single mistake and everything could come to an end— but let me warn you. . . Voldemort had never shown his true powers in the last war, so whatever imaginations you have in your mind about his power, throw them out. . . and be ready for anything you think is possible with magic and then go beyond that."

He didn't want to place a fear inside their hearts, but it was necessary they knew what they were going against. It was better if they were cautious(even cowardly) than reckless.

"Let me handle Voldemort, but keep an eye open for stray attacks," warned Dumbledore as they reached the atrium. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, arm for your wands and prepare your magic. It's time to show that justice always prevails."

Dumbledore stepped into the atrium with the Elder Wand laying comfortably in his hand as if he was a part of his arm. He sucked in a short breath and felt thick foreign magic wash over him as if he had been dunked into a deep pool with viscous water. Dumbledore knew what exactly it was. He had been feeling it over ever since he had come into throwing distance of the source.

He looked towards the said source and found the familiar figure standing in black flowing robes. The pale skin, serpentine features, and red eyes were just like the last time he had seen them in the very atrium they stood.

Their eyes met, and two waves of magic erupted, one from each, and crashed into each other, sending tingles down the people's spines as their bodies sensed the dense presence of magic.

Dumbledore wasted no time and scoured the Ministry atrium. As he had expected, there were plenty of hostages within the Death Eater's grasp. Dumbledore, however, was expecting and had thus prepared. A large group of people were on the ground, huddled in groups with terror in their eyes. They had Death Eaters standing around with wands pointed over their heads. He could see men, women, children, and even the elderly in the crowd of frightened people.

Dumbledore raised his wand like an orchestra conductor and released a wide wave of magic that reached every single corner of the atrium. The magic spread fast and affected tens of Death Eaters, making them feel a shiver immediately followed by an intense heat that tortured every cell of their bodies.

"Now!" Dumbledore shouted an order to the people behind him, who had also seemingly frozen-stunned for a second by the showcase of power from Dumbledore. The Aurors and Order of Phoenix members moved under Dumbledore's command and launched an attack on the lagging Death Eaters.

"Play nice, Dumbledore." The inherently cold voice echoed in the atrium. "Why would you ignore me to play with others when I'm here?" Voldemort waved his wand, and the Death Eaters felt the harsh magic drain from their bodies. With nothing holding them back, they started their counter-attack on the Aurors they outnumbered.

Dumbledore didn't speak to Voldemort and again weaved magic. The Elder wand's tip glowed golden as multiple threads of magic flew out towards the groups of people and poured over protective domes to shield them away from becoming a victim of crossfire between the Death Eaters and the Aurors.

Protecting more than a hundred people on his own quickly and effectively was only achievable by another person than Dumbledore, and that person was present in the room and didn't have a single intention to ever raise his wand for the cause of good help.

Voldemort raised his wand towards the hostages nearest to him and shot a charged dark spell towards them with no mercy and did it without a hint of emotion on his face as if this was a norm in life: without a single shred of remorse on his face.

Dumbledore made his move and pumped a burst of magic into the dome that Voldemort targeted.

"Fool," Voldemort scoffed as he suddenly raised his wand towards Dumbledore and chanted: "Avada Kedavra!" The eerie green zap bolted toward Dumbledore with the only intention of taking away a life.

Dumbledore immediately dropped the other magic; instead, he raised a block of marble from the floor and protected himself against the sure-kill Killing curs.

Voldemort didn't seem bothered as he lowered his wand and again pointed it at another group of people. Dumbledore again charged the protective dome, and again Voldemort shot a spell when he saw that, and this time, Dumbledore was only able to react at the last second.

"These people here are your weakness, Dumbledore," Voldemort laughed. "And because they're your weakness, they're my strength."

"Don't be so overconfident, Tom," Dumbledore bit back. "Because from the last time we met, you were forced to leave in a not soon good condition. So be rest assured, it won't be changing from the last time."

Voldemort laughed coldly, and his voice reached everywhere, even above the loud exchange of spells. "Is that so. . . then let's test if that's true."

A dozen muddy dark spheres manifested over in the air, all strategically placed above the hostage groups.

Dumbledore's eyes shrunk when he felt the power behind Voldemort's magic. That was enough to pierce his shield and kill everyone in the vicinity, including Voldemort's own Death Eaters. Dumbledore immediately poured his magic into the protective domes as Voldemort dropped the spheres with a cruel smile on his face.

Dumbledore's entire focus shifted to protection. He could still survive this, but it was clear that if he didn't protect the hostage, there would be no blood spillage as everything would've vaporized.

*Boom!*

There was a loud explosion.

Everyone stopped and turned as the spheres vanished into nothingness. Their eyes were staring at Voldemort, who had his head bowed. The spheres didn't cause the explosion, but whatever did cause it had left behind a trail of smoke from Voldemort's defense.

Voldemort slowly turned his head towards his assailant and saw a familiar figure standing in total black from head to toe and had two threatening spells hovering in his eyes.

The Invisible Vigilante had arrived at the scene.

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FictionOnlyReader - Author - Sorry for the shorter chapter, but this was what I could think of for today. I left office at 10:30 PM today, so am really tired and now going to go nighty-night.

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The link is in the synopsis!