"Gellert, do you resent me for keeping you locked up for so long?"
"What do you think?"
"Then humor me one last time."
"You know what I'll say."
"..."
The two old wizards exchanged a smile.
Dumbledore drew his wand. "I trust your dueling skills haven't grown rusty from disuse."
"Not as rusty as your political maneuvering behind a desk."
Grindelwald produced his newly crafted wand as well, and with a flick of his wrist, blue flames erupted around them, swirling and coalescing!
Roar!
The blue flames blazed brighter, rising higher, transforming into two colossal blue Fiendfyre dragons that spiraled into the sky!
"..."
Noticing the disturbances below, the Lanlock dragon lowered its massive head, its blood-red eyes fixating on the two Fiendfyre dragons challenging it.
"ROAR!!!"
To the astonishment of the two old men, it opened its gargantuan jaws, and in the blink of an eye, a cataclysm of dragonfire engulfed the two Fiendfyre dragons, encompassing half the sky!
Though stylistically altered, the blue flame was still, in essence, Fiendfyre.
Fiendfyre could burn almost anything, consuming all in its path!
Yet it was instantly obliterated by a casual burst of flame from the monster!
"While expected... the result is still a bit much, wouldn't you agree?"
Grindelwald hadn't believed Fiendfyre alone could defeat the dragon, but he hadn't anticipated it being so effortlessly extinguished. "Albus, do you think Tom Riddle could manage that?"
"I have no idea. I haven't fought him since realizing I couldn't win."
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Here it comes!"
With a deafening roar, the colossal Lanlock dragon swooped down from the sky towards them!
Dumbledore slashed his wand, conjuring a towering pillar of golden fire that slammed into the descending dragon!
Boom! ~
However, the impact of the flames barely slowed the dragon's descent. With a powerful beat of its wings, it surged forward, propelled by the very flames that assailed it!
Crack!
Realizing this approach was futile, Dumbledore and Grindelwald Apparated away.
While Hogwarts possessed a powerful anti-Apparition enchantment, Hogwarts was now gone, and the enchantment with it.
Boom! ~~
The Lanlock dragon crashed into the ground, creating a crater hundreds of meters wide!
Roar~
The black and red dragon stood amidst the shattered earth, roaring at the heavens as if announcing its dominion to the world.
The two old wizards, who had Apparated to safety, stared at the distant monster, their expressions growing increasingly grim.
Dumbledore pondered what possible methods could subdue this creature.
Though the golden flames he had unleashed weren't Fiendfyre, their essence was the legendary Ancient Blaze, no less potent!
Yet those flames hadn't even elicited a reaction from the Lanlock Dragon.
"That tactic appears to have been ineffective, wouldn't you say?"
Grindelwald remarked dryly.
"I concur."
Dumbledore pursed his lips, causing his mustache to twitch slightly. "I am beginning to suspect I require something... more direct."
"..."
Grindelwald looked surprised. "The Killing Curse? I thought you swore off using those."
"..."
Dumbledore remained silent. He certainly knew the Dark Arts; in fact, his mastery was perhaps second only to Tom Riddle; even Grindelwald might not exceed him by much. But he hadn't resorted to such spells in decades. "Sometimes, one must adapt."
"Very well."
Grindelwald chuckled and shrugged. "Let us then send this overgrown lizard back to whatever primordial pit spawned it."
"Avada..."
Grindelwald raised his wand, the tip glowing an ominous green.
Dumbledore, equally adept, swung his wand. "Kedavra!!!"
Two sickly green bolts of light struck the Lanlock dragon in the distance simultaneously, momentarily silencing the roaring beast.
The Lanlock dragon appeared utterly unfazed.
"Did we... kill it?"
The Lanlock dragon turned its gaze upon them.
"No, it merely noticed us."
"..."
The two legendary wizards were speechless. It had withstood the Killing Curses of two of the most powerful wizards alive without a scratch—what manner of creature was this?!
"I desperately want to know how this thing was sealed away by a fifth-year student."
Dumbledore was flabbergasted. He'd lived for well over a century, yet he apparently paled in comparison to some Hogwarts student. "How did they manage this?"
"A fifth-year student?"
Grindelwald laughed incredulously. "Thanks to you, I've now heard the second truly bizarre piece of news today."
Yes, bizarre.
Truly bizarre, you see? Before escaping prison, he was a fearsome figure dreaded throughout the wizarding world; after escaping, he was practically batting practice.
He could accept that a kid in his early twenties was stronger than him—after all, the other was the Dark Lord.
He could even accept that some unknown goblin was stronger than him, given that the goblin's condition was clearly unnatural, its strength artificially enhanced by some bizarre method.
But now, he hears that a fifth-year student is stronger than him?
Was the world mad!
"Does this prat really believe I, Grindelwald, am some random monster to be farmed for experience?!"
"Do they think they can just treat me like that?!"
Despite his frustration, Grindelwald didn't doubt Dumbledore's word.
But now, he genuinely questioned whether Albus had been afraid he'd cause trouble, or afraid that someone would simply treat him like a weakling to be exploited.
"Not even Tom Riddle was this powerful as a fifth-year."
"Unlikely."
The two wizards Apparated once more to evade the relentless dragonfire.
Though they could continue this dance, it was clear they couldn't win. They simply couldn't outlast a dragon.
Moreover, the monster couldn't sustain this forever. The reason they had held their own thus far was that the Lanlock Dragon hadn't truly taken them seriously.
But after these initial exchanges, the dragon was clearly growing impatient, and since they were unable to inflict any damage, it might simply flee.
However, neither wizard intended to allow that. Dumbledore couldn't allow this monster to escape; he couldn't fathom the devastation it would wreak.
And Grindelwald wouldn't stand idly by and watch Dumbledore perish beneath the dragonfire of the Lanlock.
So their plan was to stall for time, keeping the Lanlock Dragon pinned until Tom Riddle arrived, then launch a glorious three-on-one assault!
If they still failed to prevail, then all hope was lost.
Perhaps they could attempt to emulate that fifth-year wizard who sealed the Lanlock Dragon, but alas, they had no idea how to replicate that feat.
---
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