Death Eaters conquer Durmstrang (Harry Potter and the Two Worlds)
The Wizarding World has been exposed and forced to reunite with the Muggles. Delphini, Antonin Dolohov, Rodolphus Lestrange, and other former Death Eaters conquer Durmstrang, turning it into a fortress of wizard supremacy.
Full story: "Harry Potter and the Two Worlds, " by Birger, ao3
The Arctic winds howled across the black waters of the Barents Sea as one massive and ancient ship cut through the ice-laden waves. The crimson sails of the Durmstrang fleet snapped in the wind, each embroidered with the school’s sigil: A raven and a wand crossed over a sword.
In the shadowed lower cabins, Delphini stood before a cracked mirror. The candlelight flickered against her silver-blonde hair as she whispered incantations under her breath. Flesh shimmered. Bone reshaped. Within moments, the infamous witch had become someone else, a tall, dark-haired student with forgettable features and a neutral accent. Around her, Antonin Dolohov, Rodolphus Lestrange, Augustus Rookwood, and what remained of their followers performed the same human transfiguration, disguising themselves as teachers and older students.
“Keep your heads low,” Dolohov muttered in Russian, his new face lined but unrecognizable. “The guards on these ships see everything.”
“They see only what I allow them to,” Delphini replied coolly. Her blue eyes, even behind a false face, gleamed with restrained violence.
"Now I'm going to find some handsome boys to play with. This is going to be a long journey, " Delphini said, dancing away from her elderly followers.
The voyage lasted a week. Through endless fog and sleet, the ship pressed north, past the ghostly fjords of Norway and into the freezing waters surrounding Svalbard. Hidden behind perpetual mist, stood Durmstrang Institute. The castle grounds roamed with Draugr, undead beings, serving as the school's guardians.
It was tradition that every year, on the first day of term, all two thousand students and staff of Durmstrang, from all over Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe gathered in the great duelling arena, an enormous, circular courtyard carved from black rock and open to the sky.
At the center stood Headmaster Silas Lange, a century-old Danish wizard in crimson robes lined with wolf fur.
“The world beyond these mountains has gone mad,” he began, his breath misting in the cold. “The Statute of Secrecy is gone. Wizards and Muggles now stare at each other across a gulf of fear. Many call it freedom. I call it folly.”
His words rippled through the ranks of students. Some nodded while others shifted uncomfortably.
“Remember who we are,” Silas continued. “Durmstrang does not bend to chaos. The world will need discipline, strength and vigilance.”
From the crowd, a young woman with black hair and green eyes, Delphini in disguise, raised her hand.
“Headmaster,” she called softly, her voice cutting through the murmur. “What of those who believe the old ways should return? Those who believe Grindelwald was right?”
The crowd gasped. The mere name of Grindelwald still carried the weight of heresy. Silas’s sharp gaze found her immediately.
"How dare you interrupt me. Leave immediately, as you'll await your punishment. "
Two older students, one boy and a girl, grabbed Delphini and led her out of the arena.
“Those who follow that ghost,” he said coldly, “chase madness. I knew the man. I fought for him once, and I watched him turn our ideals into tyranny.”
“Then perhaps he simply lacked the right heir."
Moments later, as the arena emptied, Silas walked the long stone corridor toward his office.
He froze when he saw the rebellious girl sitting in his office with two dead students on the floor.
Delphini, no longer disguised. Her silver hair spilled over her cloak like liquid moonlight, her eyes burning with serpentine fire.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said without turning.
“Oh, but I am,” the girl responded. "And I intend to make this place reach its full potential. "
“Delphini,” Silas whispered. “By the gods… you were expelled before you ever graduated.”
“And yet I learned more than this place ever taught me,” she said softly. “You taught obedience. I learned power.”
Silas’s expression hardened. “You are playing with forces you cannot control.”
“On the contrary,” she hissed, raising her wand. “I am the control. And I have come to reclaim what you and your kind lost. Grindelwald’s dream.”
With a flick, she struck. Silas’s wand met hers mid-air, a blinding clash of light destroying the headmaster's office. The floor split apart. and windows shattered in shockwaves. All over the castle, students screamed, and teachers rushed toward the sound, but Dolohov, Rodolphus, and Rookwood and his followers were already there, blocking their path. Within seconds, Durmstrang had become a battlefield.
Stone walls cracked as spells ricocheted through the halls.
Silas fought with ferocious precision as he conjured fire, lightning, and chains of binding magic. For a moment, it seemed the old man might prevail.
He caught Delphini’s wand in midair with a twisting curse. The wood burst into flame.
“It ends, Delphini!” he shouted, raising his wand for the killing blow.
However, Delphini only smiled as her eyes glowed with violet light.
Emerald light exploded from her fingertips. The Killing Curse hit Silas square in the chest. The old wizard fell, lifeless, before his students’ horrified eyes.
The sky above the arena cracked open as Delphini rose into the air. The clouds themselves turned violet as she conjured the Dark Mark: a skull with Augurey wings. Behind it, a massive Deathly Hallows symbol appeared.
“Durmstrang is reborn!” she cried, her voice echoing over the mountains. “This will be the fortress of the new world where witches rise and Muggles kneel!”
The students stared, stunned. Then, slowly, many began to applaud. Others shouted, their cheers echoing like thunder. Centuries of militaristic pride, of discipline and superiority, flared into fanatic devotion.
Dolohov stepped forward, bowing deeply.
“Hail Headmistress Delphini,” he said. “And long live Durmstrang.”
“No,” Delphini corrected. “Headmaster Dolohov. I have greater worlds to conquer. "
