DUEL OF THE FATES | blaise

[asher rowan burke]

This is the house of death

Where even angels die
in arms of demons

May 15, 2026
blaise leo zabini

News spread quick. Like a wildfire, one might say. The irony was not lost on Asher on that statement. His cloak billowed behind him as he made his way from the village to the grounds of Hogwarts, but he stayed in the shadows. Unfortunately, he couldn’t manage to acquire an invisibility cloak from the Ministry. The past few days, he’d noted unusual behavior from colleagues. Individuals staring one second far too long as he walked the familiar halls. Not even Asher had much context on Elaine’s previous and vague message, but he had spotted the plume of smoke from the village along with familiar faces from Law Enforcement who fortunately did not see him.

It was chaotic as students ran through the courtyards, not even bothering to notice him. He could hear shouting, and he could see the blackened faces of who he assumed were the Professors trying to evacuate who they could. So this was her plan. Burn down the school? It was bold, and despite the castle being a smaller target than the Quidditch stadium, it would send a more significant statement. Asher couldn’t help but smirk. It was genius, and through one of the windows on the lower floors, he marveled at the beautiful flames.

Still, he had come here for a reason. The fire wasn’t any good if people were escaping, but there were two, in particular, he needed to check on before enacting that plan. And as an unfamiliar face, he needed to clear a path. Spotting a random Professor Asher walked with a purpose and held out his wand ”Stupefy.” And the man who had just been looking at him dropped to the ground. The Ground Floor was full of smoke, but he could hear voices. ”Ventus.” And the thick smoke cleared, though it began to fill back in slowly with the continuing flames. And then he spotted the source of the voices, and much to his luck, she hadn’t changed her face or hair today.

”Come with me Diana, you can make yourself useful.” But, she didn’t move. Asher’s eyes bore into her. It was much like when they had first met, and Elaine had tasked him with her Occlumency training. ”Don’t make me repeat myself.” He spoke sharply. He was annoyed more than anything now. Disobedience was not part of the plan. Asher’s eyes shifted to the other girl with her, a blonde-haired girl all covered in soot with fear plain in her eyes. Interesting. Asher remembered that face from probing the Diana's mind. But they didn’t matter to him. ”Diana. Elaine will hear of this if you continue to disobey.” Diana seemed to realize that Asher had seen the other girl, and she stood in front of the younger one with her wand out. ’N-No. Leave me alone Burke.’ The insolence was beginning to infuriate him, but then he caught the last of her weak protests, almost a mere whisper in the chaos. ’I think she’s dead.

Asher’s eyes locked onto Diana, and he took a few steps forward and raised his wand. This insubordination from one of his foot soldiers would not stand. Diana knew better than to run, aside from the fact that anywhere she would go was likely on fire already. It appeared that at least the Entrance Hall of the Castle was relatively intact. Asher knew Elaine would be disappointed that the main entrance and exit were so clear. Before dealing with Diana, he pointed his wand to the wall next to the Great Hall doors. ”Confringo!” Paintings and debris flew and much of it in front of the doors, which was his hope. Though he wished he could have blocked it entirely. It would stop them for now, and after that, he pointed his wand back at Diana. Eyes malicious and cold as he prepared to send a Curse as a punishment toward the girls.

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[blaise leo zabini]

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With his fourth term as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor coming to a close, it was becoming quite apparent that the endings to the terms meant hours of extra work for him. Students that were behind and failing always thought they could get their grades up by turning essays and make-up quizzes at the last minute, and for the most part Blaise let them do that. He never once made any promises that it would help them though. In his opinion, if they could put the effort in now, they could have done that all year. It was laziness at its finest. Surprisingly, the Potter girl was passing and had all of her assignments in on time, and he wasn't sure what to make of that. She apparently needed the repeat year to get it all right. That was better than being a screw-up again though.

He was sitting in his office at the back of his classroom grading the final essays of the seventh year NEWT class when he felt the first rumble. Normally Blaise wouldn't pay much mind to something like this as it was dinner time and with the end of term, there was bound to be a few loose fireworks set off before the serious studying set in. Getting the papers graded prior to heading down to the Great Hall was more important than finding the troublemakers right now. A new professor, like Weasley, could deal with that paperwork and the detentions. Especially if it was coming from one of his relatives. Based on the reverberation from the second boom, it was bound to be from George Weasley's joke shop.

But it wasn't just a few blasts from potential fireworks. It took a few minutes, but the sound of screams eventually found their way through his open class door and into his office. The roar that followed had him almost toppling his desk over. That sounded like a...dragon? Maybe Weasley had finally cracked and brought one by? Either way, the screams were real enough sounding that Blaise grabbed his wand and ran out into the corridor, immediately spotting the plume of smoke billowing out of a hallway that led down from the second floor. There was no dragon to be seen, but students were fleeing from every which way, and Blaise decided the best course of action was to head to where the smoke was coming from. As soon as he hit the platform to the second floor, he wished he hadn't.

The flames that were licking themselves around the corner up ahead were moving in the most unnatural way, and the mere seconds it took Blaise to be able to tell they were from fiendfyre was enough for it to make considerable ground on his position. The fool that had cast it was probably already dead, as he had seen very few records of fiendfyre casters surviving long, or incapacitated, which left him with only a couple of options. The immediate solution was to slow the progression long enough to get students out, and then to alert the Ministry. This wasn't anything a student could do, or at the very least he hoped it wasn't.

Concentrating as best he could against the smoke and heat, Blaise sent a wall of water down the corridor to push back the flames, but to no avail. All it did was evaporate upon contact, hissing into steam and adding to the polluted air. That meant he was down to dispersion and redirection. Another couple of intense wand flicks and he blasted back a few chimeras forming from the fire, and they retreated around the corner. And then he brought a wall down to block it off. If anyone was on the other side, they were already dead long before his arrival. This wouldn't hold it forever either, the aggressive relentlessness of fiendfyre would outlive most mundane things, magical walls of Hogwarts or not.

Blaise's next action was to send his patronus, a grizzled lion, down to the Great Hall with a warning of what was occurring above, though he had a feeling they would already know by now. It was directed to go to the Ministry immediately from there, a message to Bianca Rivera, head of Magical Law Enforcement. "Fiendfyre inside Hogwarts. Need assistance immediately." Any more words and he wouldn't have the time to beat back the encroaching flames, though even with his best efforts they were slowly making ground. Knowing the way the curse operated, it would eventually spread its tendrils elsewhere, if it hasn't done so already. Anyone that was above the second floor was doomed if they didn't find a back stairwell to escape down. There was only so much he could do against the full force of fiendfyre without any idea where the caster was.

Exhausting minutes passed by and Blaise felt his shoulder bump into into the frame of a stairwell entrance. The smoke had begun to spiral past him and into the open area, and he knew that once the fire reached there, it was going to be chaos. He started barking orders at the few remaining portrait inhabitants, telling them to try to find and lead anyone still above the second floor away from where he was, and hopefully from the fire as well. The portraits and the ghosts knew the castle better than anyone else, and they would be key to the evacuation effort. Bringing down the wall that he had just passed at the stairs, Blaise sprinted down to the first floor. He needed to make sure that people were leaving before he continued his efforts above. If they were gone, he felt that he could take his time with distracting the fire, or at least keep it at bay until the Ministry arrived.

From there he continued immediately down towards the Entrance Hall, still alerting paintings to do what they must, though he had yet to see another person. At the top of the grand staircase, he finally spotted others: a person holding onto a student, a body on the ground, and a figure towering over them. The moment of realization about what was really going on finally hit him, and he felt stupid for not thinking of it earlier. Granted, he had his hands a bit full at the time.

Blaise immediately sent a charm to move the body on the ground towards the open doors of the front entrance, not caring how it spun wildly across the ground. The standing individual had blown up part of the wall leading into the Great Hall, so Blaise assumed there were still people inside. That wouldn't do. "Everte Statum!" he roared from the high ground, down at his target. The fiendfyre had been a welcome warm-up. It had been a while since he last dueled.

asher rowan burke ● 1,137 ● Song by Artist

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[asher rowan burke]

This is the house of death

Where even angels die
in arms of demons

May 15, 2026
blaise leo zabini

Asher had his wand raised, ready to blast a hole in the ground beneath Diana and the other girls. This was the price she would pay for her insolence and her disloyalty to him and Elaine. Though he supposed he could restrain her and make her watch her sisters be subjected to some kind of curse, the Cruciatus perhaps. But he hadn’t noticed someone else enter the Entrance Hall, and before the words could leave his mouth, he felt like the wall had hit him from the side, and he collided with a nearby wall. The painting’s occupant had dove into its neighbor.

After a moment, he stood up. The hood of his cloak had fallen. The wind had gotten knocked out of him, but he stood up as quickly as possible to see who had attacked him so brazenly. Ah, of course. Zabini. But, his position was not directly in the hall as he was. Asher raised his wand quickly and pointed it at the floor beneath Blaise’s feet. ”Deprimo!” It wouldn’t be a fair fight from up there. Blasting a hole beneath him would level the playing field. To his side, Diana was already scurrying away with her sisters, and he knew better than to chase when Zabini literally had the higher ground on him.

It was unfortunate that he was exposed now, even if their audience was now gone. ”Hogwarts has fallen, Blaise.” Asher spoke loudly as the roaring fire and sound of crumbling stone filled his ears. Through the smoke of decimated debris and fire, he looked for his opponent. His wand was at the ready. He was ready for the next attack, but he was also trying to see where Diana had gone. Asher wasn't done with her yet.

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[blaise leo zabini]

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The spell made contact with the person, flinging them back against the wall. It gave enough time for the students and the woman with them to run towards the entrance. That removed the soft targets within his view, though the Great Hall was still an unknown. If there was one attacker here and another that had cast the fiendfyre, there were probably more lurking about. He needed to take out this one first and then try to open up the Great Hall before the flames surged down towards them. Hopefully the Ministry would be here soon, as his patronus had left quite a while ago now.

As he started to descend the stairs, eyes and wand trained on the slumped over individual, he watched the person stand up, their hood falling away in the process. "BURKE!" he bellowed as the identity of the man was revealed. It didn't take long for his opponent to attack back though, and Blaise felt the stairs below him crumble and give way to the effects of the spell being launched at him. He did his best to sidestep it, but found himself holding on tightly to the railing and using that as his guide through the cloud of stone dust and smoke that was starting to envelop the Entrance Hall.

His feet found solid ground, though that meant nothing with poor visuals. Knowing where Burke had been and from the sound of his voice taunting about the fall of Hogwarts, Blaise pointed his wand and launched a bolt of lightning, an offensive spell learned courtesy of Claire Slater when she killed Desiree Rousseau a few years earlier. He enjoyed the feeling of the force that it created when being cast, and he was positive Burke wouldn't see it coming. "Your sisters might be stuck above the fiendfyre Burke! You want them to die today too?" Blaise screamed at the tail end of his lightning bolt.

asher rowan burke ● 321 ● Cirice by Ghost

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[asher rowan burke]

This is the house of death

Where even angels die
in arms of demons

May 15, 2026
blaise leo zabini

Asher still couldn’t see where Blaise had ended up. And last he checked, Asher was at a disadvantage. That first spell had caught him completely off guard, and that fact only added to Asher’s anger. They were all in his way. The only positive of the current situation was blocking the Entrance Hall with their little duel, which blocked the Great Hall by proxy. Considering that he was in a hurry, he would have preferred to run into Ivy or Hazel directly or at least a Professor he could knock over with a gust of wind. Blaise was a challenge—Asher was familiar with his work at the Ministry.

But, he still couldn’t see though he heard the crackling sound of lightning shooting toward him. The dust in the air only fueled it as much as it fueled the fire. ”Protego! Asher was pushed back slightly as the lightning ricocheted, and he heard an incredible amount of glass shatter. The floor was covered with gems—rubies, diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds specifically. As he recovered, his boots crunched over the larger pieces of glass. ”Ventus Tria.” He launched in the direction the previous spell had originated from. The smoke and dust quickly cleared as the stream of wind left his wand.

With visibility, he looked directly at his newfound opponent. But he paused, though he didn’t lower his wand. ”Where are they?” Surely Elaine would have warned at least Ivy to her plan, right? And Ivy would gladly trip Asher to save Hazel any day of the week. While his familial relationships were hardly perfect, it wasn’t the issue here. He needed to know they were safe. It was a pause in the encounter. Ivy and Hazel need not be collateral damage in this. ”Where are Ivy and Hazel Zabini?” Asher demanded an answer from Blaise.

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[blaise leo zabini]

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From the sound of the lightning bolt he had just slung through the haze of smoke and dust, it had met its mark but was deflected. A crash of glass told him that it was sent through one of the stained glass windows that sat in the front of the hall. That only gave the two of them ammunition to launch at one another, on top of the rubble from the stairs and the encroaching fire. Blaise didn't know what Burke's aptitude for magic was like, but if he had protected himself from the lightning it surely meant this was going to be more difficult than he had initially anticipated. After squaring off with the fiendfyre, any prolonged duel here risked the fire finding its way down to them, more enemies like Burke arriving, and allowing anyone still within the Great Hall to fall into harm's way. This was going to have to be quick.

The polluted air around him was suddenly sucked away and then launched in his direction, a well timed and executed Ventus hex that had enough force to move him back several feet, shoes sliding along the already blackened marble floor of the Entrance Hall. Had he not been in the stance he had used for his last attack, he would have easily been knocked down from the gale. That was one of the first rules of dueling too: minimizing surface area and having proper balance. It had saved his hide more than once during his days at the Ministry. He had hoped to only ever do that at Hogwarts as a lesson for the Dueling Club or class.

With the air cleared for the time being, he could finally see where Burke was. It seemed like it was just the two of them in the Entrance Hall for now, and he hoped it stayed that way until they finished. "Hello there," Blaise grinned at his opponent, who was now going on about the well-being of his sisters. "For being as smart as you are, I figured you would have thought about that before going through with this. History doesn't look back kindly on traitors, Burke." Blaise purposely ignored the demand about where the Burke sisters were, as he honesty didn't know. If they were at dinner, they were either behind him in the Great Hall, or already out of the castle. Based on the scene when he was at the top of the stairs a few moments earlier, there had been things going on down here for much longer than he'd realized.

Having a clear view of Burke and the entire Entrance Hall now, and not caring to chitchat with his opponent, Blaise swung his wand over his head in a circular motion, the target of his next spell the doors to the front entrance that lay on the ground. The heavy, ancient oak lifted and launched, Blaise hoping they hit Burke before another spell came in his direction.

asher rowan burke ● 495 ● Duel of the Fates by John Williams

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[asher rowan burke]

This is the house of death

Where even angels die
in arms of demons

May 15, 2026
blaise leo zabini

The destruction was much more obvious now. Fiendfyre was not something to take lightly, and even Asher himself didn’t dare cast it. The Hall was covered with debris and glass and charred remains of what was still burning around them. The path of the cursed fire left behind smoldering flames. Blaise greeted him, though with that hint of sarcasm. All Asher could do was merely glare in response. It was all Elaine’s plan, after all, and nothing he could take credit for, but he wasn’t here to defend himself against such claims. She had begun this series of events, and he was merely to follow.

There was no answer concerning his sister, but small talk was not going to clear his path. Asher looked at the man who was basically an equal when it came to social circles. ”Professor Zabini.” Asher had never considered himself a traitor. In his mind, the violation of laws in regards to his membership in the Purifiers was justified. Their cause was justice enough. ”Blaise, you dissapoint me.” Asher spoke. ”My father always held you in such high esteem.” Unfortunately, there was no answer on the whereabouts of his sisters, but he trusted they were okay even if he didn’t see it with his own eyes. To be Pureblood is is to survive. They had to.

Blaise raised his wand over his head, and Asher looked just in time to see the giant doors of the Hall fly toward him. ”Reducto. He countered as bits of oak shattered and disintegrated and turned into shrapnel. Asher felt small pieces of wood hit his non-dominant arm, but it didn’t stop him, and he waved his wand at his opponent, arrows shooting from the tip of his wand. Behind him, more glass sounded like it shattered as the glass windows and hourglasses responded to the encroaching flames and pieces of the doors flying at them.

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[blaise leo zabini]

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Cardoc Burke...right. There had been a few years within the Obliviator department that the two of them had worked in tandem, though Blaise was more familiar with the English side of the Burke family. Though it really didn't matter where the family was ultimately from, they were old Pureblood and that meant quite a lot without needing to say much at the same time. Zabini detested when his social peers started delving into that, as his own line came from elsewhere, and it seemed like Burke here wasn't above throwing his old man into the mix too. The sisters made Burke worry though, so at least there were a few emotional attachments Blaise could use to his advantage if need be. At the same time, he had his own with the possibility of students trapped in the Great Hall or above him in the castle. With the constant rumblings and explosive pops all around, he was starting to worry about the structural integrity of the castle. The fiendfyre above hadn't made it to the Entrance Hall yet, but that didn't mean it wasn't climbing higher and higher...

The crashing of the doors down on top of Burke was a sight to behold. Blaise couldn't believe he had just used them offensively in an attempt to crush the other man to death, but the surprise quickly waned as they shattered instantly. Burke was apparently quicker than he had been earlier, first deflecting the lightning bolt and now dispatching the doors. In return, a volley of arrows shot through the air and in Blaise's direction. The magnitude and force he had used to get the doors lifted and thrown at his opponent had left him momentarily exposed, and while he started slashing his wand at the arrows, casting a number of Deletrius counter-charms to disintegrate them as they got close, he wasn't fast enough. One arrow that narrowly avoided his eradication spell found purchase in his off-arm's shoulder, piercing straight through his leather jacket and into him. Blaise bit back the shooting pain and angrily launched a shield spell in front of him to block the remaining arrows.

"They teach you that at Durmstrang or in the Department of Mysteries?" Blaise asked as his shield charm faded away in front of him, the arrow that had jammed into his shoulder now deleted with a quick tap, and the wound starting to heal with a second charm. Burke should have really lit them on fire. That would have made the arrows actually lethal, and a pain to deal with. "You ready to get this over with?" Blaise asked the other man before shaking his wand at his side vigorously a few times, each flick extending the flaming rope out more and more. Yanking the wand behind his head, he brought the whip down in a thunderous crack of fiery sparks directly at Asher Burke.

asher rowan burke ● 481 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[asher rowan burke]

This is the house of death

Where even angels die
in arms of demons

May 15, 2026
blaise leo zabini

His father would never stop lamenting about the current state of the world. The state of Pureblood society and how a few had opened their arms to literally anyone. Time and time again, he was pestered by his mother to find a nice pureblood girl to marry and expand the Burke family—perhaps take over the store of their relative that was now in the hands of Karkaroff. All these families—Zabini, Karkaroff, Malfoy. Working against their cause by not actively pursuing it. Asher had encountered Anastasia at the Ministry, and while she had the background and the breeding, Asher felt the girl needed to learn her place.

Asher had barely gotten the doors out of his way, and sending the arrows had left him a bit off balance. Dueling was not something he’d practice extensively in the Department of Mysteries, even if he had many spells committed to memory. Blaise managed to get rid of most of the arrows, but one had met its mark, not that it slowed him down in the slightest. A smirk came to his face. ”Durmstrang.” He simply responded. Quite frankly, in Asher’s opinion, the youth here at Hogwarts would have never survived such a place.

A few paintings behind him came loose as the fire crept its way up whatever it could light on fire on the castle wall. They came crashing down on what remained of the steps, and Asher went to see if another Professor had joined them though he caught Blaises next words and spell. This time Asher wasn’t fast enough at the firey whip wrapped around his forearm, and he could feel the burning through his cloak and jacket underneath. ”Are you really willing to fall with this decrepit place?” Hogwarts was simply a joke. How could it compare to the greater institutions of the world. Asher tried to extinguish the flames, but he felt the heat burn into his skin and twisted instead to try and loosen the magical whip. ”Relashio.” Asher needed to create space between, and this whip wasn’t letting him move.

Asher managed to free himself of his cloak, which was now smoldering on the floor. ”Its not too late Blaise.” Asher had moved from his previous position, casting a minor charm on his arm to stop it from burning at least—though it wasn’t something he could heal on his own quickly. Fire. An interesting choice, as if the school needed more of that. ”You can still join the cause.” Asher called out. The way this was going, it was likely Blaise would refuse him. In which case, he would simply proceed though Blaise still had the advantage of reach now. With his opponent in view again, he cast a spell in a slashing motion trying to catch Blaise or at least any glass that was near him. It was a cursed spell, one that was meant to hurt and make one bleed. That one he learned in the Department of Mysteries.

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The whip of fire coiled around Burke's arm, which was slightly off from where he had been aiming. A leg or the torso would have been preferable and easier to contain the man with. But burning and incapacitating an arm was good enough for the time being. Blaise clicked his tongue as Burke managed to cast the counter spell to the entanglement, though it didn't seem to help him all that much. Considering the rope was attached to his wand, all Blaise could do was watch and hope that it would start doing actual damage. The burning heap of jacket that was ripped off in the slight release granted by the Relashio proved that he had met his mark, but hadn't hit as well as he had intended. There was always next time.

Hogwarts was burning, but it was far from being decrepit, as Burke put it. Blaise had visited Durmstrang once before, and it wasn't anything to write home about. The corridors were just as chilly and stony as they were here, and he much preferred the nonsense and jovial nature that his alma mater provided than the stark rigidness that their neighbors in the north practiced. He simply shrugged at Burke's comment as the fiery whip dissipated when it left its target behind. Today wasn't the day to have a debate over which school was better. He had seen Hogwarts survive a multitude of attacks throughout his life, and he was positive it would recover from this one as well.

The drivel Burke was spewing about a 'cause' was such nonsense. They never learned. It didn't matter if it was Voldemort or the stupid little girl currently trying to make a name for herself. The sort that aligned themselves with these individuals - the Purebloods of ill repute and poor standing - were foolish. There were a few that had changed and figured it out, Draco being one of them, but for every one that managed that, a handful more sprouted up. This was why he had grown tired of the gatherings and spectacles put on by those like him. Refusing to adapt to the world was ultimately going to be their undoing. Assuming he didn't get to them first.

It didn't take long for Burke to retaliate with a spell that Blaise sort of recognized. There weren't too many dangerous, high-level spells that had escaped him during his tenure within the Ministry. This one though...he had never personally cast it nor had he ever encountered it before. The shield charm he set in front of him did its job, albeit only kept the curse from hitting him directly. He hadn't noticed how close he was to the collapsed entrance to the Great Hall, and the pressurized force of Burke's attack knocked him backwards into the rubble. A bruised and sore back was better than what that curse would have done to him.

"Fuck your cause," Blaise yelled back at him as he awkwardly pushed himself back to his feet with the help of a collapsed archway. He had been so focused on the duel that he hadn't noticed the creeping flames that were now trying to engulf the portraits and banners that littered the Entrance Hall walls. They weren't fiendfyre, so that meant he could use them. Never in his life would he have envisioned himself utilizing the burning husk of Hogwarts as a weapon but there wasn't much time to worry about semantics. Directing the crawling flames with his wand, he had them circle and twist, bending them away from their food. If the castle was already burning around them, how much worse could a firestorm spell be? It was merely a variation of the one he had just cast, though with a wider area of effect. What Burke didn't know yet though, was that Blaise was already transfiguring the flames, warping them into a striking snake, fueled by how pissed off he was getting over how long this was taking. There were probably still students in the Great Hall, and he needed to get them out. Only Burke stood in his way.

asher rowan burke ● 687 ● Song by Artist

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[asher rowan burke]

This is the house of death

Where even angels die
in arms of demons

May 15, 2026
blaise leo zabini

Asher momentarily ignored the searing pain coming from his arm. Fire was never something to be trifled with, cursed or not. As much as they had investigated its mysteries in his department, there was still much to learn and respect about it. Asher approved of Elaine’s use of the destructive and cursed fire. Anyone who came into contact with it would either have a quick death or receive a gruesome injury that would forever alter their life. Asher’s spell hit Blaise’s shield with great force, pushing him a few feet backward. Had the shield not been there, this duel would have been over, but Asher realized he still had work to do.

The least he could do was acknowledge and respect Blaise Zabini in a duel. Their tenure at the Ministry had overlapped, and with that, he’d heard all about his work. Underestimating a man like that was easily a fatal mistake. Asher watched as Blaise twisted his wand in the air, and the flames that lit the debris and walls with portraits were all pulled toward his wand. Asher looked to his side and found some debris to hide behind, though it barely gave him cover. Another firestorm, he figured. ”You would risk such a spell when most of your precious students are still in the Castle, Blaise?” Asher yelled as he tried another charm to deal with the burns on his arm. But magical injuries weren’t always as straightforward as regular ones.

”If you let me go, you can still save them.” Asher taunted. He had minimal knowledge of Hogwarts Castle. But, if it was anything like Durmstrang, it wasn’t a place filled with entrances and exits. Very few students had gone this way where they were dueling and further destroying the Entrance Hall, and if he knew Elaine as well as he did, she would have tried her best to ensure maximum damage. His healing spell did virtually nothing, and he noted blood running down his face from the initial spell that had caught him by surprise. Some shrapnel from the large door had lodged itself into his wand arm. But, his fury and drive were fueling him now, even as these injuries threatened to slow him down. Peeking around the side where Blaise was just about to cast his spell, fire swirling above his head and around him.

Asher knew he could cast a shield charm, but Blaise wasn’t a man that just stopped, so he would try to end this now. Pointing his wand, he knew he needed to try and restrain him, but he needed another jinx from the Department of Mysteries. Whether that would survive fire had never been tested, but he cast it regardless. Dark black chords shot from his wand and moved quickly, but much like the previous curse, they were likely to damage the target, unlike other binding spells, but the fire Blaise had collected had transformed as well, and Asher was its target.

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[blaise leo zabini]

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The volume and size of the fire snake blocked Blaise's view of the other side of the Great Hall, so he couldn't see Burke at all anymore. But that didn't matter. The transfigured pyre of fire struck where he had last seen his opponent, and exploded on the spot. If Burke was still in place and not protecting himself, he was going to either be dead or about to need treatment for severe burns. He had completely ignored the taunts coming from Burke while the snake roared overhead and into form. Blaise knew they were baseless claims about having to 'save' students. It wasn't like he couldn't do both. Burke had barely taken up his time and the fiendfyre had been more of a task than this duel had so far.

The black ropes that shot out from within the fire were either a futile attempt at disarming Blaise or a last ditch effort at an attack. Either way, they petered out enough through the fire and Blaise deflected them easily since his fire snake had already been released from his control well before then. Not wanting to stop his constant assault of spells, Blaise turned and lifted the broken and cracked archway he had just landed in moments earlier, with a levitation charm. In his experience, most duelists expected to only have to deflect spells. Being bombarded with stone and rubble after having a vortex of fire come crashing down would be a fun shock for Burke.

Backing up slowly towards the Great Hall without breaking eye contact on where the fire and smoke and stones had gone, Blaise quickly motioned with his wand to move the remainder of the blockage to the side so that his way in would be free once Burke was taken care of. From his peripheral he could see bodies unmoving, though there were definitely some up and actively doing things within the Great Hall. Whether or not they were friends or enemies was yet to be seen. And he still needed to check on Burke to see if he was dead or ready to wrap up like a nice present for the Ministry once they arrived.

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[asher rowan burke]

This is the house of death

Where even angels die
in arms of demons

May 15, 2026
blaise leo zabini

The giant wave of fire shaped like a serpent came directly for Asher. He waved his wand and put up a shield, though the force of the fire pushed him back several feet. Through gritted teeth, he felt the great force against him as the flames crept past the sides of his shield, and he could feel their intense heat on his arms. This wasn’t ideal, Blaise had the advantage, and he wasn’t a man that settled for anything less than total victory. This was confirmed as Asher deflected some of the flames, but those he hadn’t been able to hit him square in the chest. The wind was knocked out of him as he felt the burning against his chest and arms, but he was hardly granted a reprieve.

Dropping to a knee, he balled his free hand into a trembling fist as he gritted his teeth, and then he saw the formation of crumbling rock heading toward him. Breathing heavily, he cast one more shield charm with whatever strength he had left but soon, there was merely a small plume of dust that rose from where Asher had last been standing. Deflecting rock was easier than deflecting fire, but Asher shakily stood and leaned against a large broken piece of the doorway next to him. He was breathing heavily—his chest and wand arm burned severely, and blood trickled down his face from various sources.

More than anything, he was angry and determined to stand and face his opponent, but his energy was wavering, and he dropped again to a knee. And the trembling hand of his burnt arm finally let go of his wand, which clattered loudly on the stone floor next to him. Asher was done, and he had failed.

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[blaise leo zabini]

▲

The flames around the vicinity of where Burke had been eventually died down, the stone archway that had been slung in the same direction very clearly being blocked throughout the swirling fire, and Asher Burke was still standing. Albeit, he looked like shit. That, to Blaise, meant his spells had met their mark. The other man was leaning up against a doorframe, until he wasn’t. Even with the smoke stinging his eyes, Blaise could see that his opponent had fallen to his knees and dropped his wand. That wasn’t good enough for the professor though, as a ruse at this point in the duel wasn’t a farfetched possibility. Cornering an injured dog and dropping his guard would only invite nastier curses being sent his way. He wouldn’t put it past Burke either.

Wand raised and pointing across the Entrance Hall, Blaise took several steps forward, now feeling the aches and pains of his earlier fall in the rubble. The night was still young though, and his battles against the fiendfyre and Burke would surely not be the last he would have. Considering the lack of interference throughout the duel, that meant the upstairs was completely blocked off now, or as he hoped, empty of students and staff. The Great Hall definitely had bodies and people moving around, but he doubted there were more Purifiers in there. If that had been the case, he would have gotten spells shot into his back by now. As for outside of the castle…

During his approach of Burke, he spotted at least one figure enter into the Entrance Hall, his wand snapping onto them instantly. Excellent wand discipline from his years at the Ministry kept him from launching a stunning spell at the new figure, recognizing the person as Bianca Rivera, Head of Magical Law Enforcement. His patronus had made it in time, apparently. “Rivera! Take Asher Burke into custody!” he barked at her. The man had to be apprehended immediately and taken into custody. Blaise didn’t care that he was giving orders; this was his domain currently, and he was responsible for the continuation of the evacuation that had clearly begun while he was in the floors above. “There are still students in the Great Hall! No idea how far the fire has progressed!” he continued to yell behind him as he turned and sprinted into the Great Hall. Next step was figuring out how many casualties were inside and how to safely get them outside of the castle.

[Blaise End]

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[Bianca Alia Rivera]

The Ministry had finally fought their way into the castle, and the scene was horrifying. Bianca flinched as she ran down a long corridor, pushing past students scrambling to follow their professors while portraits dashed into their neighbors’ frames and shouted warnings about the relentless pace of the Fiendfyre. Clouds of smoke drifted heavily in the air, and even with the Bubble-Head Charm the smell was thick and oppressive. It sank into her robes, the burning tapestries, into every single inch of free and clean air that was left. But she couldn’t focus on that, or the fact that the only thing standing between her and the Fiendfyre now was one thin stick of wood. Instead, she forced herself to take a breath – as much as was possible in this hellscape – and scan the area around her.

She stumbled to a halt as the corridor ended in a staircase, and hesitated for a moment before running up the steps two at a time. The Fiendfyre was spreading quickly, so quickly, and it wouldn’t be long until the upper floors were completely blocked off. There was nothing about the evacuation that had been neat or orderly, and she couldn’t shake the thought that if there were other exits from the castle higher up, the Purifiers would already be taking advantage of them. But Bianca gasped and broke that thought as, halfway up, the staircase suddenly jolted and began to change direction. She began to curse extensively in Spanish as she waited for the staircase to finish its realignment – because she couldn’t wait to leave this blasted school and the stupidly illogical way it worked – then continued to run along a new corridor.

The sound of scraping caused her heart to stutter in her chest as she skidded to a stop in an unfamiliar wing of the castle. The door was bolted shut, and the heavy wood would be a feast for the Fiendfyre when it reached this floor. The walls shook unsteadily, as if the whole foundation of the castle was ready to collapse at any moment, and Bianca hastily withdrew her wand to blast the door open. A wizard’s magic often suited their personality – that was what her old Transfiguration professor had always said. Bianca’s didn’t have any of the subtlety or finesse of her coworkers, and it blasted solidly through the door now. She rushed inside, only for a horrified expression to cross her face at the anxious group of students huddled in the center of the Hospital Wing.

Her first thought was to swear profusely again, but every head turned to stare at her in fear and desperation as she stumbled inside. They all looked young, but some of their pockets bulged with bandages and the clinking of potion bottles. She bit back a critique – they must have rushed to find something to help their friends and gotten trapped in the process, without remembering that wood – and doors -- expand in heat. Instead, she raised her wand and ordered in an authoritative tone, “Everybody with me, right now.” With one swipe of her wand, a wave of Bubble-Head Charms whipped out to every student she could see, and with one more sharp motion she muttered “Ferula” to bandage and splint one poor Gryffindor’s broken leg. Aurors weren’t Mediwizards, but emergency first aid was one of the most foundational topics they covered in training.

She stayed by the doorway to shoo all the students into the corridor, but heard gasps and frightened shrieks as a deep rumbling echoed through the castle. Bianca didn’t hesitate to immediately cast one Shield Charm, and then another, as sections of the ceiling began to shake and collapse as the beams finally started to give way. “Back towards the staircase,” she muttered in a strained voice as she cast a third hasty Shield Charm to stop the rubble from falling over their heads, fighting to keep her attention split between the magic and ensuring that all the students followed her orders. Finally, with gritted teeth, Bianca broke all three spells at once and tore after the group, praying that they truly were the last ones on this floor. She followed the group down the staircase, half-supporting and half-dragging the student with the broken leg until they joined their friends at the bottom of the staircase. From there, she could breathe a sigh of relief – there were students following the smell of fresh air into a nearby courtyard, and they’d be able to escape into the grounds and Hogsmeade from there.

For one moment, Bianca struggled with the decision whether to follow them or not – the thought of unescorted students worried her…but no. As a Ministry official, she had a larger responsibility, and the sight of the castle crumbling to the flames terrified her. There was too much to do – containing the Fiendfyre, finding the last of the students, and hunting down Elaine and her Purifiers. The sound of dueling drew her attention, and Bianca whipped her head in the direction of the Entrance Hall. It was dangerous, but familiar, and she immediately tore off in that direction to investigate. She entered the Entrance Hall in a rush, dodging the jewels scattered over the ground that must have come from the broken hourglasses nearby. There were two figures visible through the smoke – one seemingly on his knees, but the other turned sharply to face her and raised his wand at the same time Bianca rose hers.

They stared at each other for one moment, wands raised, until the man barked information at her and Bianca recognized his voice. The professor who had sent the Patronus warning about the Fiendfyre. She didn’t lower her wand, but instead immediately redirected it at the second figure, inhaling sharply as he was identified as Asher Burke. “I’ll handle Burke,” she said in a cold voice, although the professor had already dashed into the Great Hall to find the students who hadn’t made it out yet. She immediately cast Incarcerous then stalked over to snatch Asher’s wand up from beside him. Her thoughts went to Ivy Burke, and how she’d frantically run to Ana to spill everything she knew about Elaine’s plan. Then she stared at Asher for a moment before roughly grabbing at him to force her rival to stand. “Looks like you made this a family business, hm?” Let him puzzle over that for a while – as much of a present that Blaise Zabini had just given to the Ministry, Asher wouldn’t be the only arrest of the night. “You can wait outside while we find the rest of your friends,” she said coldly, pushing him towards the doors where she could see Aurors and Hit Wizards already beginning the incantation to contain the Fiendfyre. And there was still so much more to do.

asher rowan burke
blaise leo zabini