Chapter 103: Chapter 103
The day of the scheduled duel between Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore had arrived. It was also not a coincidence that the trial for the 'Death Eaters' from Hogwarts would take place afterwards.
Since the public duel was a major attraction to the wizarding community, places with the space needed to hold such an event on short notice were limited. In the end, they decided to just build an arena at Hogsmeade.
It was connected to the Floo system for those that couldn't Apparate and had shops and pubs to accommodate the needed food and drinks. Not to mention, it was far from muggles, and the revelry would go unnoticed.
Although the Ministry had heard no word from Dumbledore about if he would actually show up, they proceeded as if he would. As much as Chad liked to sh*t on them for wizard stupidity, they were quite adept at seizing any anti-Dumbledore opportunity every chance they got.
And a massive arena full of witches and wizards waiting eagerly to see a duel to the death would be very receptive to Ministry propaganda if Dumbles didn't show up.
Sirius and Rita had been looking forward to today and had even accepted a box seat with the Ministry bigwigs. Not relishing spending the time waiting for the show to start by being brownnosed by officials, he had 'begged' Sirius to cast the Disillusionment Charm on him.
This was so he could look around Hogsmeade and have an excuse if anyone discovered him while he was invisible. Sirius, being a prankster with a soft spot for mischief, agreed quickly without much thought, merely a "make sure to be back before the duel starts."
Once free from prying eyes, Chad slipped on the Cloak of Invisibility he had liberated from Dumbledore just to be a little more confident he wouldn't be interrupted on his walk. While his fame didn't cause everyone to lose their mind anymore, the BWL title still drew attention.
The small magical town was fun to explore for a while because of its quirks, but it soon started to lose its charm. Just as he was finished examining Madam Rosmerta's 'assets'... Umm, the Three Broomsticks pub, the fireplace lit up for the umpteenth time and ejected a steady stream of red-heads.
"Don't forget to be on your best behaviour, young man, or I will give you a hiding you will never forget! Remember why we are here, we need to speak to Dumbledore!" Declared the red-faced with hair to match matriarch of clan Weasley.
"Yes, mum," came the sullen response from Ron.
For the life of him, Chad could not understand why Molly continued to yell things out in public, it was like she wanted the world to know her every thought. And her affection for Howlers...
Briefly making eye contact with the idiot child that was bashed in nearly every fanfiction written, Chad had a devilish smile on his face. Ron stiffened slightly and then looked around as if searching for a ghost that had given him a sudden chill down his back.
'Is this the fabled instincts of a wild animal?' Chad thought to himself as he backed away and made his way back to where Sirius was.
He didn't want Ron leaping at him and biting his face off like what happened to poor Draco. That was scary in more ways than one, even if he was confident in destroying the boy with little to no effort.
It was pretty good timing anyway, since if the Weasleys had turned up, then it was a good indicator of the time because they were always late for whatever event they were going to.
Getting close to midday, the time selected for the duel to start, the makeshift arena was filling up rapidly with excited magical folk. Even though Tom Riddle was an unknown, the anti-Dumbledore sentiment was high enough that he was the favourite to win even though he was heavily regarded as the underdog.
Say what you want about Dumbledore's motives or nature, the man was still considered one of, if not the most powerful wizard in the world. For a man that nobody has ever heard of to show up and battle Dumbledore was worthy of respect, even if everyone thought he would die.
Just before the clock struck twelve, Cornelius Fudge made his way out to the middle of the arena for a bit of publicity. Re-election was coming up, and this was an opportunity too good to miss.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you all for coming today to see something that will go down in history as one of the greatest magical duels the world has ever seen!
"The Ministry of Magic is here to serve the people, and when one of our citizens enacts his right for a duel to settle personal wrongs against him, we could only oblige. Even though Albus Dumbledore is a wanted criminal.
"For this reason, we have made it clear that Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has twelve hours of grace while we halt our manhunt of him for the many crimes he is guilty of committing against our community. Hopefully, his evil reign of terror will end today!
"This is at the behest of Tom Marvolo Riddle, grievously wronged when he found out Dumbledore's true nature as one of the evilest and vile Dark Lords in history when he was but a child at Hogwarts. He has been in hiding since 1945, fearing for his life while the world thought the 'Leader of the Light' was a righteous man, not a beast in the guise of a human.
"We can only hope that Albus still has enough common decency to face his crimes head-on and answer this man's courageous challenge. For even though the result will not absolve Dumbledore of the crimes committed against the Ministry of Magic, it is the only chance Tom Riddle will have to gain closure.
"The trial for Dumbledore's loyal followers that he betrayed for the chance of absolving his many crimes will also be held after this event. And since we have agreed to twelve hours of peace, he will have the opportunity to speak on their behalf if he so wishes.
"Now, without further ado, it is time for what we are all gathered here to witness. The duel between Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore, if he even shows up..." Finished Fudge, the Sonorous Charm amplifying his voice so that everyone could clearly hear him besmirch Dumbledore.
While the crowd was chattering excitedly about Fudge's speech, Tom walked out to the arena to wait for his opponent's arrival. The Minister even made a point to shake Tom's hand and thank him for his bravery and help in fighting for justice as they passed each other.
Of course, it was loud enough for a few people to overhear it and spread it through the gathered masses—a masterful performance. If nothing else, Fudge was great at swaying public opinion, he needed to be to get elected in the first place when he was middling at best as a wizard.
Time slowly ticked by as the man that thought he was Tom Riddle waited in the centre of the arena for Dumbledore to show up, and soon half an hour had passed. The old man's penchant for arriving late to every important event was once again in full force.
Though in this situation Chad could hardly fault him. Even General Ackbar would believe this a trap, and he didn't see anything coming until it was firing at him!
The crowd was slowly becoming belligerent as they sat around waiting for Dumbledore to turn up so they could watch someone die. At this rate, if he didn't appear soon, he would have lost any chance to regain some of his past glory and worship.
Suddenly, as the crowd was cursing Dumbledore's lineage, the man himself appeared out of nowhere thirty metres away from Riddle. He must have been scoping out the arena for danger before Apparating directly into the duelling field.
Teleportation was too overpowered.
Immediately, the crowd seconds away from rebellion roared in approval, and they sat back satisfied they hadn't wasted their time. Riddle was quick to seize the chance to set the narrative and barked out a few damning words before Dumbledore could do so.
"Dark Lord Dumbledore! Today is the day you are brought to justice for stealing my life from me!" He yelled, his voice magically amplified so the crowd could hear him easily.
"Now Tom, we both know it was your own choices that..." Dumbledore tried to respond with his own Sonorous Charm active before Riddle cut him off.
"Liar! I was just a child, and you tried to mould me into a monster so you could be the hero that slays it, just like you did to Grindelwald! Even when I ran away, you created a villain to terrorise Magical Britain in my..."
"Ridiculous! You are Lord Voldemort, and you will die for the pain you brought..."
"F*ck you old man, you are Lord Voldemort!"
And after Tom's last interruption, he followed his words with a silent Bombarda Maxima Charm. This was never going to be a platform for Dumbledore to clear his name, well, unless he won.
Dumbledore easily reflected the spell back at Tom when his wand magically appeared in his hand and followed it up by transfiguring two dogs to life. The Elder Wand was keen for battle.
Sidestepping the returned Bombarda Maxima, Riddle shot out three cutting charms at different angles before turning his attention to the now lifelike hounds leaping at him with slobbering maws.
"Protego!" He shouted as he slashed his wand, and a Shield Charm came into existence in front of him.
Another wave of his wand had the shield explode into a concussive blast that destroyed the two dogs when they made contact with the magical protection, their rocky remains sent flying back towards Dumbledore.
On and on the magical spell-slinging went with intense fury, neither party gaining the upper hand. For a man over a hundred years old, Dumbledore moved like a someone in his prime, probably because of a ritual he preached against.
But even he knew it couldn't last.
Fifteen minutes of constant dodging and casting saw him no closer to ending the man he thought was the Voldemort he created, assuming that the Philosopher Stone had given him a new body. Knowing he couldn't compete with the fitness level of a new and improved Riddle, he stepped up his attacks.
Transfiguration was Dumbledore's main bag of tricks, but it was not the only thing he knew. He had hoarded an entire generation of magical knowledge since he had taken over Hogwarts, and his spell repertoire was extensive.
Conjuring a flock of sword-beaked birds to keep Tom busy, Dumbledore launched into a chant of an unfamiliar language while wildly gesturing with his wand.
"Dhimashada Dab, Fulkaanaha Qarax!"
With a victorious smile on his face, Dumbledore pointed the famed Death Stick at Tom just as he had annihilated the last conjured bird. When the ground started rumbling, everyone knew some cool sh*t was about to happen.
Chad had a sudden feeling that it was nearly time to leave.
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