Voldemort's attention wavered for just an instant, and Dumbledore immediately seized the opportunity.
A burst of the Blazing Flames spell nearly struck him, forcing Voldemort to dodge hastily. But the cost of distraction was steep—because Wes joined the fight at that very moment.
"Senior, losing focus in the middle of battle is a bad habit." As he spoke, Wes's wand was already in motion.
"Volley of a Thousand Shots!"
Countless bolts of light rained down on Voldemort like a storm. He hastily raised a magical shield, but facing the combined assault of two powerful wizards, the shield quickly shattered.
Seeing this, Dumbledore immediately cast the Disarming Charm:
"Expelliarmus!"
An unseen force ripped Voldemort's wand from his hand, leaving him without his greatest weapon.
But Wes was far less merciful. He unleashed a cruel curse without hesitation:
"Bone-Crushing Torment!"
The spell struck Voldemort squarely. Agonizing pain tore through his body as though every bone were being ground to dust and every muscle ripped apart. The torment was so overwhelming he could no longer muster the focus to summon his magic in defense.
Taking advantage, Wes hurled a specially-forged chain that coiled tightly around Voldemort. Then, with another gesture, he cast the Gravity Charm, forcing Voldemort face-first into the dirt, humiliated and helpless.
"You wretch!" Voldemort roared through pain and fury, summoning all his strength to break free.
But the more he struggled, the more he realized the chain was no ordinary binding. It reacted to his magic, constricting tighter and tighter with every surge, until the iron links bit deep into his flesh. Blood began seeping out.
"Senior, don't resist." Wes pulled a strange disc from his pocket and pressed it against Voldemort's chest.
Instantly, Voldemort felt his magic being drained away piece by piece. His skin grew deathly pale, until every trace of color was gone.
The twin loss of blood and magic left him dazed, his gaze drifting into emptiness.
Dumbledore looked at the weakened man before him and sighed softly.
"Tom…"
Voldemort barely managed to lift his head, rasping with his last strength:
"Dumbledore… spare me your hypocrisy…"
But before he could finish, Wes forced a vial of Veritaserum between his lips.
Voldemort's eyes glazed over, his will slipping away.
"This is a special brew—ten times stronger than the usual serum. Ask quickly. If it lingers too long, it might leave him a fool."
Dumbledore steadied himself and began asking the questions he needed most: the locations of the Horcruxes, the names of the Death Eaters, the methods of resurrection.
Under the potion's effect, Voldemort answered everything, leaving no secret unspoken.
The weight of his crimes erased the last trace of compassion in Dumbledore's heart. Voldemort's atrocities could never be undone.
At last, it was Dumbledore himself who ended Voldemort's life. And with a final act of mercy, he buried him in the Riddle family's graveyard.
On the other side, Moody had Harry and Cedric in tow when they captured Peter Pettigrew, who had been trying to escape by transforming into a rat.
Pettigrew begged incessantly for mercy, hoping Harry would spare him for the sake of his father.
But Harry had long since learned from Sirius that it was Pettigrew's betrayal that led directly to his parents' deaths. Hearing Pettigrew shamelessly invoke his parents' names filled Harry with uncontrollable rage—he lashed out with fists and kicks.
Pettigrew curled into a trembling ball, shaking like a leaf.
Dumbledore arrived just in time to intervene.
"That's enough, Harry. Sirius's innocence still depends on him. You wouldn't want Sirius trapped in the Black household forever, would you?"
Harry finally stopped, taking deep breaths as he struggled to calm himself.
"Did any of you see a large snake?" Wes asked, referring to Nagini, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
Cedric pointed toward a large hole in the distance.
"While you were fighting, I saw a huge snake crawl out of that hole."
Dumbledore hurried over to the opening and sighed with regret.
"So it escaped after all."
Wes recalled the five golden orbs. As they returned to him, the barrier dissolved.
"This barrier has one flaw," Wes explained. "It can't extend underground."
"Is that snake really that important?" Cedric asked in puzzlement. Though the serpent was massive, the wizarding world was filled with creatures just as extraordinary—like the dragons in the Triwizard Tournament. When Cedric saw it earlier, he hadn't paid it much mind, focusing instead on helping Moody and Harry subdue Pettigrew.
It had to be admitted: Pettigrew's escape skills were exceptional. If not for Moody's magical eye with its tracking ability, he might very well have slipped away.
Neither Wes nor Dumbledore elaborated on Nagini's significance—they didn't want to burden the two students with knowledge too heavy for them. Instead, Dumbledore cast a Restoration Charm, returning the graveyard to its original state so that Muggles would never discover the battle that had raged there.
Before leaving, he cautioned Harry and Cedric to keep everything secret, not to breathe a word of what had happened.
Then, the five of them returned to Hogwarts.
When they stepped back into the school, every gaze immediately fixed on them.
Officials from the Ministry of Magic, professors, the audience, and even the families of the champions all burned with questions about what had just occurred.
Wes and Moody quietly slipped away, leaving Dumbledore to handle the explanations. As headmaster, he was best suited to deal with the situation.
The two made their way quickly to the Durmstrang quarters, hoping to find Barty Crouch Jr. still disguised as Karkaroff. But when they arrived, the place was deserted.
"Already gone?" Moody's magical eye spun restlessly, searching for even the faintest trace.
"He can't have gotten far. Apparition is impossible within Hogwarts." Wes's voice was calm, analytical. "Judging by the timing, he shouldn't be outside the grounds yet."
Moody handed Wes the cage, inside of which Pettigrew had once more reverted to his rat form.
"Leave the tracking to me. No Death Eater escapes my grasp." His tone suggested he'd already picked up a lead.
"Need my help?" Wes asked.
"I'm not so old that I can't handle a single Death Eater." With that, Moody strode off in pursuit.
Wes watched him disappear into the distance, then turned back toward Hogwarts, carrying Pettigrew with him.
°°°
Hungry for more chaps? Then check out our pătreon!
Link: Påtreon.com/BaphometFiction
I post 20 advanced chapters of this fanfic there.
If you do subscribe, please do so in the web patreon, not the ios app.