A Brain Is a Wonderful Thing

Another green flash shot out from behind the silver shield. This time, the one-armed centaur rushed forward to shield Dumbledore, took the curse, and was blasted to pieces.

Before the fragments could hit the floor, Dumbledore had pulled back his wand and cracked it like a whip.

A long, thin stream of fire sprang from its tip, wrapping itself around Voldemort, shield and all.

For an instant, it looked as though Dumbledore had won, but the fiery rope immediately turned into a venomous snake. It slithered swiftly down Voldemort's body, hissing viciously as it faced Dumbledore.

Voldemort vanished. The snake reared up from the floor, ready to strike—and a burst of fire exploded in the air above Dumbledore's head. Voldemort reappeared.

He stood on the pedestal in the middle of the pool, where the five statues had stood moments before.

"Watch out!" Harry shouted.

At the instant he cried out, another green flash flew from Voldemort's wand toward Dumbledore, while the venomous snake attacked at the same time—Phoenix Fawkes swooped down in front of Dumbledore, opened its beak wide, and swallowed the green flash whole. It burst into flames and fell to the floor, small, wrinkled, and unable to fly any longer.

At the same time, Dumbledore made a broad, powerful sweep with his wand—the snake, still some distance from sinking its fangs into his flesh, was hurled high into the air and vanished in a wisp of black smoke.

The water in the pool rose up, forming a cocoon of glassy water around Voldemort.

In the blink of an eye, Voldemort's black, rippling, indistinct figure stood faintly glowing atop the pedestal. Clearly, he was struggling inside, trying to break free from the suffocating water cocoon.

Then he broke free. The raised water crashed back into the pool, while a