He had not even finished when Antonio let loose all his magic. For the first time since he had arrived in this world, Antonio let loose every bit of power that had been raging inside him.
The moment Antonio let his magic run wild, it was as if a dam, a humongous, massive dam, had broken open its walls. The entire Wizengamot flooded with Antonio's magic, and it was recoiling like waves against everything. The entire Wizengamot felt as if an invisible force was pushing against them, forcing them, pressurising them.
It was as if the evil and frightening presence of the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself had been engulfed by another, more powerful and greater presence. All the pressure, suffocation, and oppression that had been filling the wizarding council vanished in an instant.
That feeling had been replaced by a sense of pure awe. Everyone could feel that pure, raw, and enormous magical prowess surging from Antonio Olario. They had known that Antonio Olario was enormously strong, but no one had expected this. They had never expected that Antonio would be this powerful. This was anything beyond their imagination.
This feeling was the same feeling they had felt at the funeral of the two Hogwarts students, when Albus Dumbledore had let loose his magic and announced the killing of the Death Eaters. The strength and the enormous magical prowess were almost on the same level. The same feeling. Though they were not sure whose magical presence was stronger of the two, and that in itself was a compliment to Antonio.
Also, they were keeping in mind that Antonio was not releasing his magic in the presence of a mook crowd, but in front of the Dark Lord and a dozen other Death Eaters.
"Impressive," Voldemort mumbled, his face still impassive and expressionless. "You again surprise me, Antonio Olario."
Though there was no change in his demeanor, Voldemort, inwardly, was reeling from shock. He was stunned and baffled and in disbelief. Another man being compared to Albus Dumbledore in magical power? This was not what he had expected in his entire life.
Like everyone, he had known that Antonio was powerful, but never in his wildest dreams had Voldemort ever imagined that Antonio would be this strong.
Like everyone else, he too could tell that Antonio was comparable to Dumbledore. In fact, he could tell better than most as he had seen and known Dumbledore from a close distance and he understood about the old headmaster. And this had him shocked.
But though a bit shocked, Voldemort was also feeling fortunate. He was relieved that he would be removing a very big obstacle in his path today.
The raw magical prowess surely put Antonio on the same level as Albus Dumbledore, but Antonio did not have the experience that the old man had.
Antonio did not have enough time to grow, and thus, Voldemort was sure that Antonio's range of spells would be limited. He believed that Antonio would not have developed a very great understanding of magical spells; they would surely not be on the same level as those of Albus Dumbledore. And he had a great chance to remove this man before turned out to be another Dumbledore.
"You are strong," Voldemort mumbled. "But sadly for you, this will be your end."
The words had barely left his mouth before he struck. His wand hand whipped, and a greyish color whizzed towards Antonio.
And though Voldemort had made his move suddenly, Antonio was not caught off guard. He too whizzed his hand, and a spell erupted from it, colliding with Voldemort's spell mid-air. Both spells countered each other, and in the first exchange, there was no advantage or disadvantage. Both of them had come out as equal.
All of this happened too fast for the other people in the Wizengamot to react. For the first few moments, there was no response, but then mayhem and chaos broke out all of a sudden. The start of the duel had frightened the Lords of the Wizengamot to their wits and had also finally forced them into action.
Despite the wands of the Death Eaters leveled on them, the Lords started to move frantically. They were jumping across the tables, colliding with each other as they were trying to outdo each other in exiting from the council hall. The Aurors who were in the council hall had no idea how to handle the situation. They were standing motionless and they too were too stunned to speak or do anything.
"Escort us out!" one of the Lords shouted. "Protect us!"
Following this, many calls echoed from the Lords, and even from the Minister himself, to protect them. The Aurors shook off their stupor as they quickly came into action, trying to escort the Lords of the Wizengamot. They tried to form a protective barrier around the Lords, their eyes fixed on the Death Eaters and their wands raised.
They had expected the Death Eaters to react, to try and stop them and keep them as hostages, but they did not move.
They did not resist and did not stop the Lords. They remained expressionless and impassive, as if anything happening in the middle of the hall was not their concern. But a couple of them had their eyes locked onto a certain man. A certain Lord.
Unlike the majority, Edmund Bones had not started to run away immediately. He was still debating inwardly if he should flee or remain to help Antonio.
He would have wanted to help Antonio Olario, but he had an understanding that in the fight against Voldemort, he would not be of any use. But he also did not want to run, leaving Lord Olario to fend for himself. Maybe, he could stall the Death Eaters.
Unfortunately for him, it did not come to him to make a choice. The choice was made by someone else. Two Death Eaters had turned and were now standing directly facing Edmund Bones.
"Lord Bones," the Death Eater smiled maliciously. "I have heard that you are a very brave warrior. Would you mind if I check it and find out for myself?"
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