At that moment, outside the Headmaster's office at Uagadou, the witches and wizards of the Kalembo tribe stared intently at the center of the field. Two brilliant streams of light collided and entwined mid-air, their clashing magic igniting a dazzling flare of energy.
The streams originated from the wands of Wentworth and Juma Kalembo.
Sweat pouring down his brow, Juma gritted his teeth and forced a strained smile.
"Truly worthy of the Dumbledore name. It seems… I'm going to lose. Heh."
Wentworth, wand still in hand, began to step slowly and deliberately toward Juma Kalembo.
Though their spells met at the center of the field, it was clear that Wentworth had the upper hand. His spell pushed steadily forward, forcing back the magic of Juma inch by inch.
As the distance between them closed, Wentworth smiled lightly and said,
"Juma, you once shared a secret with me, Kalembo's plans for me. Now, I'll share one with you: I'm not actually a Dumbledore."
Juma blinked in surprise. In that instant of distraction, Wentworth lunged forward, thrusting his wand ahead with sudden force.
A surge of light exploded from Wentworth's wand. Realizing danger was imminent, Juma immediately released his grip on his wand and rolled to the side.
Just in time.
With a loud crack!, Juma turned to see his wand snapped cleanly in two mid-air.
No time to mourn the loss of his long-time magical companion, Juma stared at Wentworth in disbelief as the young man watched him, expression somewhere between amusement and menace.
"What… what are you?" Juma demanded.
"I'm me," Wentworth replied, still with that faint smirk. "I'm Wentworth. Just… not a Dumbledore."
Juma slowly got to his feet, eyes wary. Then, with a sudden roar, he turned and bellowed to the shocked Kalembo witches and wizards around them:
"Are you all blind?! Seize him! Dead or alive!"
The Kalembo tribe members finally snapped out of their stupor. Wands raised, they aimed at Wentworth.
But before they could utter a single incantation, Wentworth pointed his wand sharply at the ground.
"Ventus Exurgo!"
The ground trembled. In the blink of an eye, a whirlwind of sand and stone erupted around them. Dust clouded the entire area, obscuring vision and choking the space with swirling grit.
Squinting and coughing, the Kalembo witches and wizards peered through the chaos, trying to find where Wentworth had been standing.
But he was gone.
Then his voice echoed once more:
"Tenebris Totalus!"
Light vanished. Sunlight itself seemed swallowed whole, replaced by a thick, impenetrable darkness.
In the pitch black, one wizard instinctively raised his wand.
"Lumos!"
But the moment the faint glow appeared, a spell whizzed out of the darkness and struck him squarely in the chest.
With a scream, the wizard was flung backward, his light extinguished as quickly as it had appeared.
"Idiot!" Juma growled. "Don't give away your position!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Juma's expression shifted. He dove low, just in time.
A scream sounded behind him. Juma swallowed hard, realizing that had he hesitated for even a moment, he'd have been the one hit.
Silence fell. The Kalembo tribe, suddenly understanding the situation, stilled. No one dared to breathe too loudly. Only the howling of the sandstorm echoed in the oppressive dark.
After a long pause, Juma began crawling silently toward the spot where he'd heard the scream earlier.
Soon, he found the unlucky tribe member who'd been hit. Groping in the darkness, Juma retrieved the fallen wizard's wand.
He positioned the unconscious wizard in front of himself as a shield, then took a deep breath and shouted:
"Everyone, with me! Finite Incantatem Totalus!"
As he cried out, Juma plunged the stolen wand forcefully into the ground.
Another spell flew out from the darkness, this one struck the shield wizard Juma held. The poor man twitched violently before going limp, unmoving.
The other Kalembo witches and wizards, though clearly shaken, followed Juma's command. Spells flew as they cast the area-wide counter-curse.
Moments later, the sandstorm eased. Dust settled. Light returned to the battlefield, forcing everyone to squint against the harsh sun.
Juma exhaled in relief.
Then he froze.
Something cold was pressing against his temple.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wentworth standing calmly at his side, wand pressed gently to Juma's head, smiling pleasantly.
The Kalembo witches and wizards, regaining their senses, rushed forward with wands drawn.
But they hesitated.
With Juma held hostage, they exchanged uncertain glances, unsure what to do next.
Calmly, Wentworth moved behind Juma, keeping him in front like a human shield. He whispered close to Juma's ear:
"Juma, looks like this duel… is mine."
Juma gave a bitter smile.
"You win. The moment I ordered them to attack, the duel was already yours. But Wentworth, even though you won this round, the Kalembo tribe still claims victory in the end. Forgive me, but we fight with numbers."
Wentworth raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Oh? Didn't think you'd wager your life on it, Juma."
Juma chuckled darkly.
Then shouted:
"Everyone, Stupefy!"
The Kalembo tribe, roused once more, raised their wands as one.
Cursing under his breath, Wentworth shoved Juma forward and rolled to the side, casting a quick Protego over himself as spells flew.
Juma took several direct hits from the Stunners before collapsing silently to the ground.
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]