HP: Bloodraven Chapter 384 - The Dawn of a New Era (V)

The whole account, the explanation to the ICW, was obviously a carefully coordinated script discussed among the four of them: Dumbledore, Maverick, Edward, and Maxime. If the story was coming from Maverick alone, there might have been room for doubt. Instead, as he continued, he paused at carefully chosen moments, allowing the others to corroborate his account with a nod, a brief statement, or the confirmation of a particular detail. And with four Archmages independently affirming the same sequence of events, there was little room left for argument. Of course, one could still doubt the story, but they'd have to think twice unless they were willing to offend four Archmages at once. Maverick allowed a brief silence to settle, while beside him, Dumbledore took the opportunity to lean forward slightly, his calm voice carrying effortlessly across the chamber. "For those unfamiliar with what a Horcrux is, it is an object into which a portion of one's soul has been placed, effectively creating an anchor that prevents death so long as the object remains intact. To create one, a wizard must commit an act of deliberate murder, which causes the soul to fracture. The portion then stored in the Horcrux grants a form of continued existence even if the body is destroyed." He paused, his expression becoming grave. "However, the fracturing of one's soul does not come without consequence. It takes with it a significant portion of one's sanity. An individual who has done this will find that they are no longer capable of sound judgment. I say this plainly so that it is understood: this is not magic to be studied out of curiosity..." The hall absorbed the wise wizard's words in silence, many silently nodding in agreement. Most were sincere, but there were a few whose eyes gleamed ever so slightly before the emotion was quickly masked once more. In any case, mages, especially the individuals gathered in this assembly, did not lack years in their lives. A Horcrux, although a pseudo-method of immortality, came at the price of one's sanity, a cost no sane person would willingly pay. Maverick nodded toward Dumbledore and continued his narration. "When I refused his offer, whatever remained of his rational mind gave way entirely. There was no further conversation, and from that moment on, our language became magic." "We dueled. It quickly became apparent that he was far weaker than an Archmage should have been, most likely another consequence of his fractured soul. He seemed to reach the same conclusion as well, and just as I was about to end the confrontation, he chose to flee..." He paused again, briefly glancing to either side. "My colleagues can attest that, at our level, pursuing an opponent determined to escape is considerably more difficult than confronting one who chooses to stand and fight. The moment he committed himself to flight, my advantage was effectively lost. Even so, I continued the pursuit. A wizard of that nature, left free, represented far too great a danger." This wasn’t wrong. Without some form of spatial formation, it would indeed be difficult for one Archmage to prevent another from escaping. Even if Voldemort was considerably weaker in his resurrected state, it made little difference. The same held true for Great Magi. In a duel between two opponents of that level, if one was determined to flee, the other had little chance of stopping them unless they possessed some form of trump card. Of course, none of that applied to Maverick. He stood an entire realm above the Archmages. That little detail, however, was conveniently left out of today's script. "I pursued him, crossing the country again and again as he Apparated from one location to the next. Eventually, he changed his approach entirely. Perhaps he feared I would call for reinforcements. Rather than continue running, he chose to threaten me instead." "He took the entire city of London hostage, threatening that if I did not allow him to escape, he would not stop until he had inflicted as many civilian casualties as possible." Saying as much, Maverick made a deliberate pause, carefully putting on a conflicted expression before letting out a quiet sigh. "I had a choice to make. Allow him to go, and live with whatever followed, or take a risk on ending it there." He paused again. "I chose the latter. Of course, it was not a decision made lightly. During the pursuit, I had already contacted Speaker Edward, Speaker Dumbledore, and Speaker Maxime, requesting their assistance." Turning briefly to his teacher, then to Maxime, and finally to Dumbledore, he added, "I later learned that Speaker Dumbledore took even further measures. He contacted the British Minister for Magic to mobilize the Ministry's forces, and even alerted the Muggle authorities, placing the city on full alert and having every available emergency service mobilized." "It was absolutely the right call, and I will address why a little later. In the meantime, Speakers Dumbledore, Edward, and Olympe finally arrived. Their first priority was establishing a spatial formation to prevent Voldemort from escaping. Because of his rather troublesome means of flight, the formation had to encompass the entire city of London, requiring their complete and undivided concentration to maintain. From that point on, all I had to do was bring him down as quickly as possible." "Everything was happening simultaneously, and I confess, at that point, the exposure of magic was never my primary concern. It was the lives of the millions of people in the city of London." Pausing again, he looked across the hall, his brows furrowed in apparent contemplation before letting out a quiet breath. "I ultimately defeated Voldemort. The confrontation lasted longer than it otherwise should have, as I was fighting him while doing everything I could to keep the consequences from falling upon London. In the end, I made certain he would not return a third time." The hall remained silent, it went without saying what that meant. Maverick let the words settle over the chamber once more, but not a single murmur arose, everyone understanding there was still more to come. "However," he continued several seconds later, "I was not afforded even a moment's rest. The instant that battle ended, I came under attack without warning again. And the individual responsible was someone every person in this chamber knows all too well." "Yes... Gellert Grindelwald." A name that required no elaboration. Moreover, his headless body had already been broadcast across the magical world, so his death was not news, but the name itself still moved through the hall like a cold current, murmurs rising and then subsiding again. "You have all seen the footage of what followed. What you might not know is that Speaker Edward, Speaker Dumbledore, Speaker Maxime, and I worked together to draw him away from the city before fully engaging him..." "Grindelwald was countless times more difficult than Tom Riddle," he continued after a brief pause. "Perhaps because of his confidence in his own strength, he failed to notice the trap until it had already closed around him. The same spatial blockade formation was employed once again, and eventually, he too was defeated." A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "We are still investigating precisely how he managed to escape Nurmengard. Which brings me to Speaker Volkov." Having said that, he turned briefly toward Takamura, who, as if on cue, rose from his seat without being asked. "From the initial investigation conducted at the prison," Takamura said in his usual precise, unhurried tone, "the evidence indicates that Speaker Volkov died from a direct physical attack. Based on our findings thus far, it is reasonable to conclude that Grindelwald was responsible, most likely attacking while Speaker Volkov's guard was lowered. Why Speaker Volkov was present at the prison that evening, and how Grindelwald was able to escape without activating any magical wards there, remains the subject of the ongoing investigation." Having said that, he gave Maverick a single nod before quietly taking his seat once more. "That, in summary, is the sequence of events that led to and unfolded during the previous evening," Maverick said, looking across the hall. "On the matter of Speaker Dumbledore's decision to promptly request support from both the magical and non-magical authorities... I would like to place on record that it was because of that decision countless lives were spared last night. Throughout the course of those events, the British Ministry of Magic, the country's non-magical authorities, and the many others who responded to an urgent call for assistance all worked together..." He paused, allowing the words to settle, and for the first time, a faint smile touched his face. "...not a single innocent life was lost. Before attending this assembly tonight, I personally met with the Muggle Crown Prince of Great Britain and the leaders of the country's law enforcement. They confirmed..." ————————— Author's Note: I'm sorry. 😭 My perfectionist brain started tingling, and I just couldn't continue without having the MC give a proper scripted account of everything... hence... the long rant. This wasn't part of my original draft at all. 🙏