Dumbledore had known that Fish wanted to fight Grindelwald, so, to be fair to him, he had not revealed Fish's exact abilities to his former lover, only that Fish was a talented young wizard.
As for Fish, he had seen many images of him and Grindelwald fighting before this...
Grindelwald was old enough to be a child, so what sense did it make to yield to a child?
So Grindelwald, oblivious to the situation, was surprised by Fish's white tiger form and quickly adapted to the fact that he thought it was Fish's Animagus form, but Grindelwald was still a little confused and speechless...
Hadn't Albus said that Fish was a cute kitten? What's so small about this "kitten"?
Grindelwald cursed Dumbledore's lack of reliability as he used the Disapparition Charm to dodge Fish's charge and defended himself resolutely.
Then he saw the claws of the white tiger glow red and swat away the spell he had cast.
Grindelwald: "..."
He couldn't help but raise his hand, rubbing his eyes forcefully, and then cast two more spells at Fish.
(=ΦωΦ=)ジ
"Poof! Poof!"
Grindelwald was now sure that Fish had indeed shattered the spell with his claws.
The First Dark Lord fell into silence...
Had the Animagus Charm come to this point?
He hadn't given much importance to the Animagus Charm. Even if one transformed into a beast, they couldn't fight as well as him because they couldn't use spells after transforming, and the benefits were not proportional to the complexity of the practice.
But Grindelwald was Grindelwald after all, and quickly adjusted his mindset. To put it bluntly, Fish's situation was similar to having a strong Protego Charm on his paws, nothing out of the ordinary.
So he switched to an obstructive-type spell like "Impedimenta" and occasionally cast spells like "Petrificus Totalus" and "Protego" to limit Fish's movements.
"Nya!"
(=ΦωΦ=)
Faced with the overwhelming attacks, Fish immediately changed to his cat form, then swiftly jumped out from the gaps and transformed back into his white tiger form, slapping Grindelwald, who was still dazed.
"Protego!"
In the nick of time, Grindelwald reacted in time to withstand Fish's slap with the Protego Charm, and then, like Voldemort, he flew across the room.
Partially numbed by the shock, Grindelwald twisted in the air just as he was about to collide with the wall, and once again unleashed the Disapparition Charm, appearing more than ten meters behind Fish.
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!"
This time, Grindelwald not only recited the incantation but increased the power and speed of the spell, shifting his mindset from "master" and finally taking Fish seriously as an equally skilled wizard.
The red light, much brighter than before, flew at great speed towards Fish's head, back, and legs.
With three consecutive spells, the attacks were so spread out that it wasn't easy for Fish to knock them all down with his paws at the same time. It was useless for him to try to dodge them this time by becoming smaller, as Grindelwald's empty hands did not remain idle. While casting the stunning spell, he transformed into a dozen gray wolves that pounced on Fish.
"Snap!"
Fish's figure turned into a black and white vortex, disappearing in the blink of an eye and reappearing next to Grindelwald.
"Roar~!!!"
(=`Д=)
Grindelwald's brain buzzed from the powerful roar, but he managed to free himself before the tiger's claws could scratch him, using the Disapparition Charm, only to have a large slash on his humble robe.
Something was wrong! Something was happening to this kid! What kind of child could be an Animagus and still use the Disapparition Charm? He couldn't believe that was the latest in magical research; it had to be that Fish!
Grindelwald finally realized that Dumbledore had probably deceived him, and Fish was not a genius in the normal sense of the word.
Unlike Dumbledore, he wasn't so interested in being a mentor to his subordinate, but rather in something unknown and powerful.
"Next, I won't hold back," Grindelwald remembered, licking his lips.
Fish wagged his tail disdainfully.
As if someone hadn't held back.
With his words, Grindelwald finally showed the level of combat he remembered from Dumbledore, but once again, although he said he wouldn't hold back, he still didn't truly intend to kill Fish, just as he remembered.
Meanwhile, Fish was also using all his abilities, constantly switching between his various forms and using all the spells he had kept hidden, like [Moonfire] and [Starfire].
The sixth floor, fortified by Dumbledore, soon bore the marks of their violent battle, with holes and claw marks caused by magic.
"No, no more! I admit my defeat."
Grindelwald was old and not as strong as Fish.
After realizing that even if his spell hit Fish, it wouldn't do much harm, and that in the next second there was a flash of green light and the wound quickly disappeared, Grindelwald resigned himself to defeat.
He couldn't really do anything, and if he kept fighting, he would only end up exhausted by Fish, who could fight and fight and heal at any time.
"What the hell! Fish isn't satisfied!"
(`н´)
Grindelwald's sudden stop made Fish unhappy. It was rare to find someone who could fight for so long, but why did he stop after a while?
"No, no," said Grindelwald, waving his hand. "I don't have as much energy as you young ones. I can't go on."
"Well... alright then..."
Although Fish was reluctant, he couldn't force people to fight with him, could he? It's not like he was the enemy.
So Fish turned his attention to Dumbledore.
"Albus, why don't we have a duel?"
(ω)
"Ahem..." Dumbledore, who was watching Grindelwald's antics, said with a serious face, "It's getting late, so we should probably head back."
(ω) (,_,)
Both Fish and Grindelwald gave him a suspicious look at the same time.
"I thought we agreed that after dealing with Voldemort, we would have a good fight." Dumbledore brought up their previous agreement. "Besides, I have something to tell Gellert."
Fish then let go of Dumbledore.
After restoring the sixth floor to its original state, Dumbledore transformed into three chairs and a small round table, setting up the table with refreshments and tea.
"Now, here's the matter..."
Dumbledore explained to Grindelwald the situation between Voldemort and Harry, his speculations and personal arrangements, and Voldemort's reaction so far.
"... So there's a high chance that he will go after the Elder Wand and eventually find his way to you."
"What do you mean?" Grindelwald asked absentmindedly as he took a gentle sip of his black tea.
"What I mean is..." Dumbledore's face contorted, and he finally stared at Grindelwald. "I want you to leave here, pretend to be dead, or something of the sort."
"That would be too obvious to Voldemort that something's amiss, wouldn't it?" Grindelwald chuckled lightly. "After all, it would be too much of a coincidence, and with his cautious nature, he would probably figure out your plan."
"But if he comes after you... you're in danger."
Dumbledore didn't believe that Voldemort had any respect for Grindelwald, the "veteran," and that's why he was so indecisive.
"He hasn't been revealed yet, right? So he won't make too much fuss, and if I tell him where the old wand is, he won't harm an old man who's about to die," Grindelwald said nonchalantly.
At that moment, Fish, who was eating a sandwich, suddenly reached out and slapped Grindelwald's body.
(ΦωΦ)
"Don't worry, Albus, Fish just marked Gellert, so if something happens to him, Fish will be the first to know... Well... I just have to check in occasionally and replenish the mark."
Dumbledore was stunned for a moment, then remembered Fish's untested resurrection spell.
"Well... it seems like that would be the best solution for now," he said, nodding after a moment of contemplation.
Grindelwald was a little bewildered. Even if Voldemort had killed him, what could Fish do to bring him back to life?