"Dumbledore!"
The small cell was filled with black fluid, either from Dementors or Voldemort himself.
Jane Yu almost thought she had developed night blindness, as everything before her was black, flowing, and ethereal. She could see no light, not even through the small window, which was completely obscured by darkness.
She could only hear the conversation between Dumbledore and Voldemort.
"You look rather unwell, Tom. It seems you went to Egypt and used some magic you shouldn't have."
Dumbledore's voice was calm and natural, as if engaging in casual conversation. Voldemort's voice, however, was vicious and frantic, seemingly unable to comprehend how his concealed movements had been discovered.
"There's a traitor among my followers!" The vicious voice rang out. "Who could it be? After all my days and nights of preparation, after so long in exile, you come to interfere again... My Death Eaters were supposed to return to me in two days, but you've forced me to release them early."
"You thought your actions were unnoticed." Dumbledore took a step forward. "But there are no walls without cracks in this world. However, coming here to persuade the Dementors to join your ranks was a clever decision. You're still as resourceful as you were in your school days, Tom."
Jane could hear Voldemort's breathing grow heavier.
She imagined he must be furious, for even after graduating from Hogwarts and becoming the Dark Lord who swept through Britain's wizarding world, he remained insignificant in the eyes of his former professor, Dumbledore. Dumbledore knew all his weaknesses and flaws, all his disgraceful past, as if he were inherently overshadowed by him.
"No matter, I will find out who it is." Voldemort's voice continued. "But Dumbledore, I am both surprised and puzzled. Why would a 'great white wizard' like you send her to die in front of me?"
Jane felt the malicious gaze in the darkness fixate on her.
Clearly, Voldemort had shifted his attention to the weakest target.
"I'm quite curious," the voice continued. "Yu Jane, a fifth-year Slytherin student at Hogwarts, your adopted child. I truly cannot fathom why a wizard like you would adopt a Slytherin child. What is so special about her? I would have thought, if you were to choose an orphan to be your right-hand, you would have chosen Harry Potter."
He paused for a moment before continuing:
"I underestimated her. My plans have been thwarted by her again and again. But Dumbledore, do you really think she can stop me?"
Dumbledore's voice remained calm as he slowly approached Voldemort:
"That's where you're wrong, Tom. You should know the allure of teaching and guiding young minds for a wizard like me. There is nothing more rewarding than nurturing the young and setting them on the right path."
A cold laugh echoed in the darkness. Voldemort clearly did not believe Dumbledore's words:
"So, you're saying that using her to fight me is your way of 'guiding young minds'? You seem to misunderstand my magic."
The Dementors filling the room began to stir, the indistinct darkness flowing even faster.
"What a pity, Dumbledore. You didn't come here alone. If you had, your chances might have been higher, I think."
Almost instantly, Jane felt every hair on her body stand on end—a sharp, needle-like killing intent!
The darkness surged toward her, but in the next moment—
The small cell became as bright as day, illuminated by Dumbledore's magic!
Flames drove back the encroaching souls, and light clashed with darkness. Jane finally saw Voldemort's appearance—
His robes covered his entire body, bandages wrapped around every inch of exposed skin, leaving only two blood-red eyes visible.
A mummy?
Before she could process this, Voldemort sent a green light hurtling toward her—a Killing Curse. But it missed, easily deflected by Dumbledore, striking the cell door instead and causing it to collapse with a loud crash.
"This is a duel between the two of us," Dumbledore declared, his voice booming.
Green and golden beams of light collided mid-air, scattering in all directions and breaking iron bars. The cell door was blasted open, and the shadows within—likely Death Eaters—began to stir.
Bricks on the walls exploded one by one, and Jane felt the floor trembling, dirt and debris falling from the prison ceiling. She waved her wand, casting protective charms over herself and Dumbledore, deflecting the falling rubble.
Voldemort waved his wand, forming a cocoon-like shield around himself. But the fiery ropes conjured by Dumbledore bound the cocoon tightly, flames scorching it—until they suddenly turned green.
Seeing Voldemort preparing to counterattack, Jane quickly cast Fiendfyre, her golden-red flames clashing with the green flames and dissipating against the cocoon.
"Well done, Yu!" Dumbledore immediately shifted his tone. "Very brave!"
Bricks transformed into soldier statues, charging at Voldemort, only to be shattered one by one.
The two sides exchanged several more blows. The green flames turned golden-red again, and a phoenix charged straight at Voldemort's shield. Upon impact, it burst into a fireball, engulfing Voldemort, who struggled to escape the burning flames.
"Dumbledore, you disdain fighting one-on-one, don't you?" Voldemort's voice was sharp but defensive, his blood-red eyes glaring at Dumbledore.
It was clear that he had already fallen behind in the initial 1v2 exchange.
"You can choose between a duel or a brawl," Jane replied sincerely, sending two powerful Severing Charms his way. "If you choose a duel, you can duel the two of us. If you choose a brawl, we'll brawl you together."
To be honest, she couldn't understand why they should adhere to any formalities or etiquette when given such a prime opportunity to eliminate dark forces.
Voldemort was livid, his blood-red eyes widening further.
But in the next moment, Jane noticed the bandages around his mouth move slightly, as if forming a sinister smile—
Suddenly, the ground beneath her feet gave way!
She plummeted straight down!
Above her, Voldemort's maniacal laughter echoed, growing more distant:
"This shall be her tomb! I only need to deal with you, Dumbledore! My Death Eaters and Dementors will devour her to the last scrap—"
...
Jane had never felt so calm in her life.
Though her body was falling, it didn't stop her from casting spells.
Under the effect of a Levitation Charm, her robes caught her, allowing her to adjust her posture mid-air and adopt a proper feet-down landing stance.
She then cast a Transfiguration Spell on a brick, turning it into a large stone slab.
After falling two floors, she managed to steady herself on a platform.
But the level she was on was nothing like where she had come from—
All the cell doors were open, and dark figures were surging toward her like a tide.
She knew exactly who those figures were—
The walking... or crawling shadows were the freed Death Eaters, while the floating ones were the treacherous Dementors.
She could hear the Death Eaters' wild laughter and screams, their exhilaration at newfound freedom and their eagerness to attack her—
They were like ravenous wolves awaiting their meal, ready to tear her apart!
"Kill her—the obstacle to our master—"
She saw Bellatrix licking her cracked lips, her throat emitting a hoarse sound.
Even without wands, the Death Eaters were no ordinary foes. Their wandless magic and curses—whether poisonous or otherwise—came hurtling toward her. For them, the game of torturing their prey brought immense satisfaction.
But Dumbledore's protective charms continued to do their job, deflecting the spells one by one.
Jane knew what she had to do. Her left hand reached for the Deluminator inside her robes.
She needed to follow Dumbledore's instructions, find the LeMay couple, and seek their aid.
Perhaps Grindelwald had foreseen something, given that this trip to Azkaban had been prompted by his warning—
But she felt a burning rage within her, her stomach churning with a fiery emptiness, craving battle, craving protection...
The Obscurial began to surface on her skin. She decided to remove the collar around its neck.
She saw the terror in the Death Eaters' eyes, and even the Dementors, eager to feed on her emotions, began to retreat...
The black fluid began to rampage through the prison!
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