Ivy Doom was a smart man.
Or rather, he was the sort of person who believed himself to be smart.
And up to this point, nobody had really disagreed with that assessment.
Which meant that fighting Albus Dumbledore had actually been part of his plan from the very beginning.
The reason was simple.
Destroy the evidence.
As a dark wizard highly proficient in the Killing Curse, his ebony wand had claimed more than a few lives.
And when standing before the greatest white wizard of the twentieth century, keeping incriminating evidence around was an incredibly foolish idea.
All it would take was a simple Prior Incantato spell for Ivy’s secrets to come spilling out.
While he was fairly certain the spell he had cast most often was Revelio, that certainly didn’t mean Dumbledore would somehow miss the occasional appearance of the three Unforgivable Curses mixed in between.
Even though Ivy firmly believed every person he had killed deserved it, he still had absolutely no interest in attending advanced studies at Azkaban—otherwise known as wizard prison.
Thus, using Ancient Magic to destroy his wand had been the best possible solution.
And an even better solution was making Dumbledore personally participate in destroying it.
That was why, after hearing Dumbledore introduce himself, Ivy’s first spell had been Protego.
It showed he was a cautious duelist concerned with self-preservation, not some reckless fanatic willing to die fighting.
Then came the Banishing Charm used to create distance—still not an offensive spell.
It lowered his apparent aggression and subtly reduced Dumbledore’s guard.
After Dumbledore introduced Severus Snape as Head of Slytherin House, Ivy finally used his first offensive spell:
Expelliarmus.
Aggressive, perhaps—but far from lethal.
And then came the grand finale of his carefully designed performance: the Ancient Magic lightning strike, clashing head-on against Dumbledore’s spell and conveniently destroying his own wand in the process.
It demonstrated both the overwhelming power of Ancient Magic and its instability.
Finally, he pulled out a second wand and, thanks to Snape’s perfectly timed assist, “lost the ability to resist” before shamelessly surrendering on the spot.
Thus leaving behind a very deliberate impression in the minds of Dumbledore and Snape:
A Slytherin who valued his own life above all else.
At this point, Ivy’s entire performance for the duel was complete.
What came next was the conversation phase.
The only things he could rely on now were improvisation and an extremely careful tongue.
“Goblin silver…
perhaps some materials I don’t recognize as well…”
Snape examined Ivy’s silver wand beneath his nose with a blank expression before handing it to Dumbledore.
Only then did he turn toward Ivy, who stood nearby dragging his oversized robes across the floor.
“A child who hasn’t even finished growing yet dares attack two adult wizards…
while using magic he clearly cannot fully control…” Snape sneered coldly.
“If you hadn’t surrendered quickly enough, I might have mistaken you for an arrogant Gryffindor.”
Ivy curled his lips but said nothing.
His expression clearly read:
Your fists are bigger, so you make the rules.
“…Exquisite craftsmanship!” Dumbledore continued admiring the silver wand through his half-moon spectacles.
“Well then, perhaps now you’re willing to speak with us?
Mister…?”
Ivy shrugged reluctantly.
“Ivy.
Ivy Doom.”
“Excellent.
It seems we’ve reached a certain understanding, Mister Doom.” Dumbledore gave the silver wand an experimental wave, but only a few weak sparks sputtered from the tip before it fell silent again.
“You appear to be a Hogwarts student.
So why attack us?”
“You’re not going to ask about Ancient Magic?” Ivy shrugged again.
“Fine by me.”
Then he countered with a question of his own.
“Have you ever seen me at Hogwarts?”
“Obviously not.
Because I’ve never seen you, either.”
“Oh?” Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, apparently accepting the logic.
“I’m a fifth-year Hogwarts student.
A transfer student, yes, but my grades are excellent in every subject.
Every professor likes me.
And according to Professor Black—I mean, Headmaster Black—I was supposed to become a prefect next year!”
Ivy looked rather proud of himself as he spoke before pointing toward Dumbledore.
“And yet I’ve never seen you anywhere in Hogwarts.
Not even in the portraits!” Then he turned toward Snape.
“You too.”
“So there’s only one possible explanation.
If all of us are telling the truth, then one side must have traveled through time!”
Ivy snorted smugly, clearly very satisfied with his deduction.
“And everyone knows the Ministry keeps Time-Turners under absurdly strict supervision.
In fact, I recently read they were considering even stricter laws regulating their use.
Honestly, I suspect it’ll take them at least twenty years to finally finish writing the legislation.”
The regulations surrounding Time-Turners had indeed been discussed by the Ministry back in 1899.
Ivy had once read about it in the Daily Prophet while attending school.
Whatever eventually happened, Time-Turners were absolutely dangerous enough to deserve strict control.
This was Ivy’s version of improvisation.
“When you mention a Hogwarts Headmaster named Black,” Snape said slowly while narrowing his eyes at Ivy’s face, “only one person comes to mind…”
He seemed to be searching for flaws in Ivy’s story.
Unfortunately for him, Ivy’s disguise was flawless.
“Phineas Nigellus Black, obviously.
Who else could it be?” Ivy glanced around before lowering his voice slightly.
“One of Hogwarts’ greatest headmasters.
Everyone says so.”
Then he added carefully:
“I mean, Headmaster Black was certainly a great wizard.
I absolutely didn’t imply anything else.”
“Oh…” Dumbledore sighed softly.
“I’m afraid we are all telling the truth, Mister Doom.
And no one used a Time-Turner.”
“Today is July 30th, 1991.”
“I am Albus Dumbledore, the current Headmaster of Hogwarts.
And Professor Phineas Black served as Headmaster several generations before me.”
“So you mean…” Ivy looked genuinely stunned.
“Yes,” Dumbledore replied gently.
“The classmates, friends, and professors you once knew are all gone.”
“I’m a hundred and forty-four years old now?!”
The two of them spoke at the exact same moment.
And then the chamber fell into an awkward silence.
(End of Chapter)