Chereads / Harry Potter and the Ambitious Girl / Chapter 75 - Chapter 70: Dumbledore vs. Grindelwald

Chapter 75 - Chapter 70: Dumbledore vs. Grindelwald

Albus Dumbledore first met that young man when he was 18.

Having graduated from Hogwarts with numerous accolades, Dumbledore had planned to embark on the traditional graduation trip with his friends.

However, while discussing their travel plans at the Leaky Cauldron, devastating news reached him: his mother, Kendra, had passed away. This forced him to return home.

With his mother gone, Dumbledore had no choice but to assume responsibility for the family and take care of his younger sister.

His sister—Ariana Dumbledore.

A tragic girl whose mind had been broken.

It all began when a group of Muggle boys witnessed her using magic.

Driven by fear and ignorance, the boys attacked and brutalized young Ariana, leaving her mind shattered and robbing her of the ability to use magic properly.

Her father, consumed with fury over the atrocity inflicted on his daughter, sought revenge. He used magic to attack the boys, maiming and torturing them mercilessly before ultimately killing them.

This act of vengeance, however, brought its own consequences. He was arrested, sentenced to life in Azkaban, and died there a few years later.

Dumbledore pitied his sister.

But he also resented her.

To Dumbledore, Ariana was a chain dragging him down, an obstacle on his path to greatness.

He could not reconcile himself to the idea of being tied down, taking care of his broken sister.

He longed to live freely and make full use of his immense talents.

It was during this time that Dumbledore met him—Gellert Grindelwald.

Grindelwald, a distant nephew of Bathilda Bagshot, had come to stay with her in Godric's Hollow.

Recognizing the potential for friendship between the two young men, Bathilda introduced them, and they quickly formed a deep connection.

For Dumbledore, this meeting was unlike anything he had experienced before.

Despite his brilliance, Dumbledore had never truly had a peer—someone he could see as an equal.

While he was surrounded by admirers, none could match his intellect or engage him on the same level.

Grindelwald, however, was different. Equally gifted, he became the one person Dumbledore could talk to as an equal.

Although Grindelwald's ideas were somewhat extreme, they appealed to the exhausted and frustrated Dumbledore.

"Albus, listen. I've been thinking. We wizards and Muggles live apart, in separate worlds.

But isn't it time we unified them?

Our rule would benefit the Muggles, too. A world led by the superior is a world that prospers."

The philosophy of dominance.

Grindelwald believed that the powerful should govern the weak, and Dumbledore, bitter over what the Muggles had done to his sister, agreed.

If it hadn't been for those Muggles, Ariana wouldn't have been broken, and he wouldn't be burdened by her care.

This resentment led Dumbledore to embrace Grindelwald's ideology.

The two brilliant young men, intoxicated by their shared dream, spent their nights discussing it fervently.

It was a childish dream.

A foolish fantasy.

But—

The time spent dreaming with his friend was, without a doubt, one of the most joyous periods of Dumbledore's life.

The Great Hall was a scene of carnage.

Spells flew in every direction, and blood stained the battlefield.

Yet amidst the chaos, there was a strangely untouched space.

Why did no one approach it?

The answer was simple: they couldn't.

The sheer overwhelming power of the two wizards standing there created a barrier none dared to cross.

To step closer would mean death—an unavoidable conclusion for anyone foolish enough to interfere.

"Come now, let's finish what we started that day, my old friend."

One of the figures in the untouched space, Gellert Grindelwald, raised his wand.

His movements were precise, refined, and without waste.

Even now, he was the same as when he had stood beside Dumbledore all those years ago—a brilliant, fearsome figure.

"There is no continuation. That chapter is already closed, my old friend," Dumbledore replied calmly.

With measured grace, he drew his wand—not the Elder Wand, which had abandoned its loyalty, but his old phoenix-feather wand from his youth.

Now an aged man, far from his former self, Dumbledore stood with quiet resolve, his eyes fixed on his adversary.

"It will not end, not while I am here," Grindelwald said with a smile.

He bowed elegantly, following the ancient custom of showing respect before a duel.

Even Lord Voldemort had upheld this tradition, demanding, "Bow to me!" before engaging in combat.

And so, with that solemn gesture, the duel of old friends began.

"It was already over the moment I stood here."

Dumbledore, his expression unchanged, returned the gesture fluidly. Their mutual intentions to duel were now clear.

In a chaotic battlefield, such formalities were unnecessary. Someone like Mirabel would exploit the moment of bowing to strike with ruthless magic.

But between these two, there was an unspoken trust—absolute and unconditional—that the other wouldn't resort to such underhanded tactics.

They were once friends, after all. This duel had to be fought honorably, face-to-face.

The two raised their wands and stared each other down.

Both were formidable wizards, legendary in the history of the magical world, and well aware of each other's prowess.

Their abilities were evenly matched; any rash move would likely be fatal.

Yet to emerge victorious, they had no choice but to act.

The tension grew heavy, the air thick with anticipation, as beads of sweat began to form on their foreheads.

The moment of release came suddenly.

Debris from the ongoing battle flew between them, momentarily obscuring their view of one another.

—And in that instant, both moved at the same time!

"Hah!"

"Zahh!"

There was no need for incantations.

Silent spells collided mid-air, their flashes clashing and scattering sparks in all directions.

Before the echoes of their first clash subsided, Dumbledore had already completed his next spell.

"Nuuhn!"

One! Two! Three! Four! Five!

His wand moved like a whip, releasing five spells in a single second.

But Grindelwald, with equally deft movements, countered each one while preparing his own attack.

"Fuh!"

One motion!

A sphere of light materialized before Grindelwald, which then burst into countless rays of light.

The web of dozens of beams surged toward Dumbledore, intent on consuming him.

But with a simple lift of his wand, Dumbledore conjured a pillar of flame that erupted from the ground, swallowing the light entirely.

The flames didn't stop there—they transformed into the shape of a phoenix and launched themselves at Grindelwald.

Impact! The fire spread, scorching the space where Grindelwald had stood.

But he wasn't there.

He reappeared behind Dumbledore, his robes billowing as he struck.

"It's reassuring! Even in old age, it seems your strength hasn't left you!"

A chandelier fell, and countless pieces of debris hurtled toward Dumbledore from all directions.

There was no escape.

Yet Dumbledore remained unfazed.

A blue, shimmering shield of Protego enveloped him, deflecting every fragment.

Hovering in the air, he then surged toward Grindelwald.

"With age comes clarity."

Grindelwald, too, raised a barrier to defend himself, his crimson shield shimmering as he launched toward Dumbledore.

The ability to fly without a broomstick—a skill Voldemort arrogantly believed to be unique to himself—was far from exceptional.

As Dumbledore once put it, Voldemort was "lamentably ignorant."The Dark Lord failed to grasp that what he could do, others could achieve as well.

In truth, levitating one's body was not a rare phenomenon.

Spells like Wingardium Leviosa, Locomotor, Accio, Rictusempra, Levicorpus—all of them, in some form, could manipulate a body's motion.

For prodigies like Dumbledore and Grindelwald, applying such principles to achieve flight was a trivial matter, one they had mastered in their youth.

"What clarity have you gained? What do you see with eyes clouded by guilt?"

Collision after collision!

The two wizards clashed repeatedly in mid-air, neither yielding an inch.

Each impact sent waves of magical energy rippling outward.

The relentless exchange propelled them out of the Great Hall and into the corridors, where they continued their battle, soaring and firing spells at each other.

"This world, Grindelwald—it's not beyond redemption."

Dumbledore fired a series of stunning spells in quick succession, aiming to incapacitate his old friend.

Grindelwald evaded them by breaking through a window, soaring into the open sky.

Dumbledore followed, hurling himself into the vast expanse.

For wizards of their caliber, the confines of a school were far too limiting.

Only in the open skies did the scale of their battle truly make sense.

"You sound like a saint, Albus! But that's not who you are!"

They exchanged flashes of light, trying to outmaneuver each other.

None of the spells struck home.

They spiraled around each other, tracing circles in the air, their magic crossing and intertwining like threads in a tapestry.

It was as if their very hearts were reflected in the patterns of their duel.

"You're just afraid!" Grindelwald shouted, his voice sharp as steel.

"You're terrified of sacrificing someone again. You fear becoming the villain. That's why you stand still, paralyzed by your past!"

Grindelwald's wand flared, conjuring a blade of light, which he swung at Dumbledore.

In the same instant, Dumbledore's wand shimmered, creating a blade of his own to block the strike.

The two magical weapons clashed, releasing crackling bursts of energy and shockwaves that rippled through the air.

"You cower in fear of your past sins, unable to take a step forward! And this is the result—corruption, decay! The magical world in disgrace!" Grindelwald bellowed.

"If you truly cared about the future of the wizarding world, you should have become the Minister of Magic!"

"—!"

The struggle seemed evenly matched, but Grindelwald's strength began to prevail.

Though their magical power was equal, his youthful vigor gave him an edge.

Moreover, Grindelwald was a vampire—his physical strength far exceeded that of an old man.

Dumbledore was flung backward, crashing into the castle walls and breaking through to the other side.

Without missing a beat, Grindelwald pursued, striking again.

"Understand this, Albus! Those who fear moving forward cannot weave the future!

It is your fear, your negligence in watching the decay of the wizarding world, that created that devil!"

Dumbledore evaded the strike and swung his wand.

From it emerged hundreds of birds.

He followed this with a transfiguration spell, transforming all the birds into arrows that flew straight toward Grindelwald.

Finally, he unleashed an explosive spell, causing all the arrows to detonate.

A chain reaction of explosions erupted, shaking the earth and painting the sky in fiery red.

But Grindelwald burst through the smoke unharmed.

The reason? Air. In an instant, he had created a layer of air around him devoid of oxygen, extinguishing the flames before they could touch him.

"Indeed, I am a foolish old man... I do not deny my sins.

However...!"

Their blades collided again, but this time Dumbledore deliberately softened his stance, deflecting the attack.

Then, with a quick Apparition, he appeared behind Grindelwald, casting a Disarming Charm.

But Grindelwald likewise Apparated, appearing above Dumbledore.

He unleashed an ice spell, enveloping the area in a freezing vortex that even chilled the air itself.

"Still, what of it?!

How do you intend to change this world?!

Pretty words alone will achieve nothing, Albus!"

The icy maelstrom subsided, but Dumbledore remained unscathed.

He had created a vacuum layer around himself, just as Grindelwald had earlier, rendering the cold ineffective.

Then, manipulating the winds, he blew Grindelwald away.

The force carried him to the nearby lake where Durmstrang's ship had once appeared, plunging him into its waters.

Dumbledore pursued him into the lake.

Despite being underwater, the two of them, with their mastery of magical barriers, repelled the water around them as if it were inconsequential.

They exchanged spells, and the lake's water spiraled upwards into the sky, lifting them out.

"Perhaps change is indeed necessary... but her methods are far too hasty.

She relies excessively on violence!"

Both manipulated the water they had summoned.

Grindelwald solidified it into a water dragon, while Dumbledore froze it into an ice bird.

The two creations clashed at the center, colliding with such force that the roar echoed across the land, neutralizing each other.

"You haven't changed a bit in that regard!

You were always nagging me about not using too much power!

Yet you quietly mastered magic for your own benefit—such hypocrisy!"

Dumbledore shifted to low-altitude flight, entering the forest.

Grindelwald followed, and their battleground shifted to the woods.

The dense trees obscured their view of each other, creating a natural fortress that challenged their spells.

The one who adapted better to this terrain would gain the upper hand, while the other would falter.

It was a simple, yet intricate battlefield.

"Oh, indeed! You never listened to my advice!

Do you have any idea how much of a headache that gave me?"

Leaves scattered in the air, transforming into a myriad of objects under Transfiguration.

For a wizard skilled in Transfiguration, a forest was the ideal battleground.

There was no shortage of material to reshape.

Countless silver blades soared through the air, while tree branches twisted into tentacles, writhing to ensnare them both.

But neither slowed their pace, flying through the forest while firing off spells.

"Speak for yourself! I know you secretly used magic for your own gain,

and you never corrected anyone when they thought your mischief was my doing!"

"Hmph... yet how many times did you blame your magical pranks on me?"

Grindelwald's wand glowed, transforming nearby trees into creatures.

Massive, powerful, and ferocious, they took the form of a creature long extinct:

the Tyrannosaurus Rex, one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs in history.

Dumbledore, not to be outdone, Transfigured a tree into another creature.

This one had a stout, four-legged frame with three horns on its head.

A Triceratops, equally famous among dinosaurs, stood ready.

The two beasts roared and collided, shaking the forest around them.

"You've always been so petty! Always trying to steal the spotlight!"

"And you're one to talk! Every time we ate Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, you made sure I got the bad ones!"

The Tyrannosaurus snapped its jaws, and the Triceratops thrust its horns.

After a ferocious battle, both creatures fell, returning to their original forms as trees.

But the fight wasn't over yet. The forest provided an endless supply of trees to transfigure.

With a single wave of Dumbledore's wand, trees transformed into massive fists, while with a simple motion from Grindelwald, countless shields sprang into existence.

"You drank the Butterbeer my aunt gave us all by yourself!"

"You made me pay for our meals three times in a row!"

"The wizard card collection I lent you had a torn card when you returned it!"

"You still haven't paid back the two Galleons I lent you!"

The increasingly trivial argument continued as they cast spell after spell.

For them, this was a rare opportunity.

Only because they were perfectly matched in skill could they truly fight with everything they had.

And in some way, they found it enjoyable.

It felt as though they'd gone back to their younger days.

Before they realized it, they were smiling as they battled.

"Your owl woke me up six times in the middle of the night!"

"Your owl pooped on my bed!"

"Your magic experiment turned my nose into an elephant's trunk, and I couldn't fix it all day—it was humiliating!"

"Your curse stretched my neck like a giraffe's, and I couldn't even get into my own house!"

Anyone listening to their exchange would be incredulous that this was the argument of the two most powerful wizards in the magical world.

Thankfully, there was no one around to witness it.

In their hearts, they had returned to their youth.

Memories of the times they spent together flooded back, even the most trivial ones.

All of it was precious.

Every single memory was irreplaceable, cherished beyond measure.

"…Heh… heheh…"

"…Heh heh heh…"

Laughter slipped out unintentionally.

Despite everything, this person hadn't changed at all.

It was laughter filled with exasperation, relief, and joy.

Even in a moment like this, their hearts felt strangely light.

"Ah… this is fun, Albus."

"Indeed… it feels as though we've gone back in time, Gellert."

If only they could stay like this forever.

Talking, laughing, and ending this battle with a smile, just like in those days.

But that wasn't possible.

No matter how close their paths seemed to align, they could never truly return.

Both had a duty to see this conflict through to its end.

And so—this was where their moment of youth would end.

"Still, we cannot return to those days… as adults, we must settle this."

"Yes… we've grown too old to turn back to the past."

Emerging from the forest, the two wizards landed on the ground, facing each other.

Their wands ignited with the glow of conjured blades, their killing intent sharpening with each breath.

Without averting their gaze, they stared into each other's eyes—eyes now carrying the cunning and experience of their age.

"Come, Gellert. Let us put an end to our dream here."

"Try it… if you think you can, Albus."

It was time to bid farewell to the dreams of their youth.

And to begin running toward new dreams.

For that, they needed this moment—this now!

With resolve, Dumbledore leapt forward, and Grindelwald rose to meet him.

In a single instant, they crossed paths.

Two shadows collided, and one shadow was split in two.

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