The Media Event: A World Transformed
The morning of late May 1995 saw a revolution in wizarding journalism. The Daily Prophet released a Special Edition that was distributed with a speed and roar of disbelief previously unseen in the British Isles. The front page featured a singular, haunting photograph of a Parisian avenue where the cobblestones shimmered with a ghostly, receding blue luminescence.
Headline: THE END OF THE DARK LORD: VOLDEMORT ASHED IN PARISSub-headline: Grand Sorcerer Darius Zogratis Ends the Terror in Under Two Minutes
The reportage described an encounter that redefined the limits of magical combat. It confirmed that the entity known as Lord Voldemort had been "annihilated" in a brief, clinical exchange. Soul-residue analysis conducted by both British and French Ministries confirmed the permanent cessation of the threat.
Institutional and Individual Reactions
The "Ashing of Voldemort" triggered a global paradigm shift, fundamentally altering the lives of the era's most prominent figures:
Albus Dumbledore: The Headmaster of Hogwarts viewed the news with a profound sense of relief shadowed by a chilling realization. The Prophecy that had dictated his strategic movements for fifteen years had become a dead letter. Darius had not merely defeated a Dark Lord; he had rendered the very concept of "Dark Lords" primitive. Dumbledore recognized that the world no longer belonged to prophecies or old men, but to the boy with the scarlet eyes.
Harry Potter: For the "Boy Who Lived," the news brought a hollow but fierce sense of freedom. Having been prepared for a suicide mission, Harry found himself suddenly redundant. He was no longer the "Chosen One"; he was simply Harry. The weight of an unwanted destiny had been lifted by a peer who treated the task like a minor chore.
Hermione Granger: While others celebrated, Granger focused on the theoretical implications. Identifying the "glowing blue ash" as the result of a soul-stabilization loop, she concluded that Darius had achieved a Grand Unified Theory of Magic. He had not "killed" Voldemort so much as he had corrected a biological and magical error in reality.
Severus Snape: As the Dark Mark on his arm faded into a silvery scar, Snape experienced the sudden obsolescence of his life's work. His fifteen-year penance was over, but so was his purpose. He remained in the dungeons in a state of silent reflection, contemplating a future without a war to fight.
The Weasley Family: At the Burrow, the mood was one of unadulterated triumph. For the younger generation, like Ron Weasley, Darius became a figure of fan-like adoration—a wizard who had removed the shadow of fear from their family in a mere two minutes.
The Collapse of the Old Order
The remnants of Voldemort's "Inner Circle," including the Malfoy and Lestrange families, felt their Marks turn cold. The realization that their master had been "ashed" by a seventeen-year-old who viewed him as a minor inconvenience systematically dismantled the ideology of Blood Purity. The fear they had once held for Voldemort was replaced by a deeper, more existential dread of a world governed by Zogratis's logic.
Historical Conclusion
By the end of May 1995, the wizarding world had transitioned from an era of darkness and prophecy into the Age of Zogratis. The struggle between "Light" and "Dark" was rendered obsolete, replaced by a new era defined by scientific magical mastery and the cold, clinical efficiency of the Grand Sorcerer.