Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [5]

⚡️ Chapter 76 ⚡️

When Vega came back into the world of the conscious, there were several things she couldn't understand – for one, Vega was no longer in the room with the archway. She blinked at the brightness as the Ministry of Magic's Atrium flooded into her vision. But it couldn't be more different, smashed and in ruins, and then her eyes fell upon those around her.

There were only four other people in there with her – Harry was sitting next to her, staring at Vega with eyes so wide they could pop out, and across the atrium was Bellatrix, heavily injured and pulling at her broken leg, and then there was Voldemort.

It was the last thing that Vega had expected to see: Voldemort in the middle of the Ministry of Magic but he stood there rigid, anger etched across his face and wand raised directly at Vega.

But the person closest to Vega was none other Dumbledore, with his hand holding stiffly from the top of her head and his wand was pointed in the middle of her forehead. Vega stared at him in shock, feeling overwhelmed as she tried to process what was going on around her and her heart started to beat rapidly, her breath turning shallow.

"You're fine now," Dumbledore told her, releasing her head. "Relax,"

Vega's head dropped down once the support holding it up let go and she stared at the mucky dark liquid splattered all over her robes and the ground surrounding her. Her arms shook as she pushed herself back away from it, groaning as she slipped and fell.

"Be careful!" Harry gasped, grabbing her arm and pulling her behind the golden statue of the wizard from the Fountain of Brethen, its arms wide.

"I'm surprised, Dumbledore, that you would bring such a volatile girl to fight," Voldemort spoke up softly. "Was it, perhaps, a pitiful attempt to scare me? You are sourly mistaken,"

Voldemort raised his wand and sent a jet of green light towards Dumbledore, who turned and was gone in a whirling of his cloak; next second, he had reappeared behind Voldemort and waved his wand toward the remnants of the fountain; the other statues sprang to life.

The statue of the witch ran at Bellatrix, who screamed and sent spells streaming uselessly off its chest, before it dived at her, pinning her to the floor for the woman could not get away with her sickly, broken leg that carried her.

Meanwhile, the goblin and the house-elf scuttled toward the fireplaces set along the wall, and the one-armed centaur galloped at Voldemort, who vanished and reappeared beside the pool.

Lastly, the headless statue thrust Vega and Harry backward, away from the fight, as Dumbledore advanced on Voldemort and the golden centaur cantered around them both. Vega was hyperventilating, trying to understand what was happening.

"It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom," Dumbledore said calmly. "The Aurors are on their way –"

"By which time I shall be gone, and you dead!" Voldemort spat as he sent another Killing Curse at Dumbledore but missed, instead hitting the security guard's desk, which burst into flame.

Dumbledore flicked his own wand. The force of the spell that emanated from it was such that Vega, though shielded by her stone guard, felt her hair stand on end as it passed, and this time Voldemort was forced to conjure a shining silver shield out of thin air to deflect it.

The spell, whatever it was, caused no visible damage to the shield, though a deep, gong-like note reverberated from it, an oddly chilling sound.

"You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?" Voldemort spoke, his scarlet eyes narrowed over the top of the shield. "Above such brutality, are you?"

"We both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom," Dumbledore said calmly, continuing to walk toward Voldemort as though he had not a fear in the world, as though nothing had happened to interrupt his stroll up the hall. "Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit –"