The Return to Hogwarts

Harry hardened his heart. Regardless of what the outcome of this unusual duel would mean, Harry instinctively sensed that he and Voldemort were evenly matched in this duel. In that case, he might as well win first and then calmly face death!

He concentrated all his energy, trying to force the orb of light towards Voldemort. The song of the phoenix echoed in his ears, his gaze unwavering, blazing with fury. Slowly, slowly, the orb stopped sliding towards him and began to move towards the other side.

Now, the wand that had fallen to Voldemort began to tremble violently. Voldemort looked shocked and frightened. This added to Harry's pleasure, so he focused even more intently on forcing the orbs of light to move.

A shimmering orb trembled, only inches from the tip of Voldemort's staff, and continued to draw ever closer.

Regardless of what would happen when the orb of light touched Voldemort's wand, Harry sensed that something Voldemort would never want to see occur. He had never been so focused on anything in his life, his sole purpose being to force the orb of light into the tip of Voldemort's wand. Slowly, the orb trembled as it moved along the golden thread, and after a moment, it connected with the tip of the wand.

Suddenly, Voldemort's wand emitted a painful, echoing scream. Then, Voldemort's red eyes widened in astonishment—

His staff tip first emitted several wisps of gray smoke, the meaning of which was unclear. Then, a hand formed of thick smoke flew from the staff tip, circled Voldemort's head twice, and then disappeared.

Is it the hand that Voldemort made for Barty Crouch Jr.?

Harry guessed that this was the truth.

Immediately afterwards, several more inexplicable gusts of air appeared, and then his wand emitted another piercing scream.

An object larger than a hand emerged from the tip of Voldemort's staff, also composed of thick smoke; first a head, then an arm and a torso.

Harry's blue eyes widened in astonishment. He remembered seeing this old man before. In his dream, Voldemort and Cleopatra were plotting something when this old man barged in and lost his life.

Finally, the old man's full form appeared. He leaned on his cane, looking at the two fighting with slight surprise, examining the connected wands and the forbidden net.

“So, he really is a wizard?” the old man said, his eyes fixed on Voldemort. “That fellow killed me. You fight him, son.”

Voldemort's expression turned terrified again. He recognized the Muggle who had died at his hands, but he couldn't understand what was happening.

A dead person has reappeared?

The strange movements of Voldemort's wand did not end there; another head appeared, also emitting gray smoke, and this time, it was a woman!

A moment of confusion nearly caused Harry to drop his wand; he quickly steadied it, both his arms trembling.

It's Bertha Jorkins.

Since the Ministry of Magic confirmed that the employee was missing rather than lost, the Daily Prophet has published the story several times, and Harry has seen a picture of the woman in the newspaper!

Bertha Jorkins's ghost stared wide-eyed at the fight unfolding before her.

"Don't let go!"

Her shouts, like the old man's before, echoed, as if coming from a great distance.

"Don't let him kill you, Harry, don't let go!"

wrong!

Harry shouted in his heart.

This is not right!

He noticed something, even though he didn't know the exact principle behind this amazing scene, he could still make some inferences based on it!

It shouldn't be like this!

Harry trembled with excitement, and the hatred in his bright green eyes, which were brimming with tears, vanished, replaced by hope!

Something's missing!

Harry's heart was filled with a devout prayer and a cry for help!

If his recent small victory really did cause Voldemort's wand to revisit the spells he had cast, and if the old man and Bertha Jorkins' ghosts also appeared, then they absolutely should not be missing!

Ron and Hermione!

Their souls didn't appear. If Voldemort's wand was truly replaying, then they should have appeared before the old man and Bertha Jorkins, unless... there's only one possibility.

Harry's gaze suddenly fell on the corpses.

There's only one possibility: Ron and Hermione are not dead at all!

Chapter 860 Blaine!

2024-04-13

Harry was trembling all over, not from the pressure of maintaining the connection with Voldemort's wand, but from his unwavering hope that he was right more than ever before: Ron and Hermione's spirits hadn't appeared; they were still alive.

But how is this possible?

As is widely known, since the Suicide Curse was first introduced, only one person has survived the curse, and that person is himself, who is therefore known as the 'Boy Who Lived'.

However, Voldemort had already said that he was not dead because his mother's selfless sacrifice had given him a powerful protective spell, while Hermione and Ron's parents were not here, and no one was there to protect them from the certain death curse.

Moreover, if they weren't dead, what's wrong with Hermione and Ron? They're lying on the ground lifeless, just like Gabrielle.

A series of doubts filled Harry's mind. He tried desperately to convince himself that his guess was correct, but those questions were equally impossible to ignore.

Suddenly, Harry's thoughts stopped.

Another head emerged from the tip of Voldemort's staff. Harry recognized her immediately. Her appearance was undoubtedly further proof that Ron and Hermione were still alive. He should have thought that this woman would appear if his guess was correct, but he was so focused on the fact that Ron and Hermione were safe that he overlooked it.

The ghost of a long-haired young woman fell to the ground like Bertha, straightened up and stared at him. Harry's eyes were fixed on his mother's face, his arms trembling violently.

“Your dad’s here too,” she said softly. “He wants to see you. Everything’ll be alright. Hang in there, Harry, hang in there.”

He did come. First his head, then his body—a tall, disheveled man. The man Sirius had longed to see again.

James Potter's spirit rose from the tip of Voldemort's staff, fell to the ground like his wife, and straightened up. He approached Harry, looked down at him, and spoke to him in the same distant, echoing voice, but so softly that Voldemort couldn't hear him—Voldemort was horrified to see his murderers walking around him.

“Don’t be sad—” James smiled at Harry.

"They are not dead. Your friends are not dead; their souls are still in their bodies, and we can see them."

Well!

In an instant, tears welled up in Harry's emerald eyes. He could only bite his lip so hard that it bled, forcing himself not to cry out. He had never experienced such a beautiful moment before; his heart was filled with happiness and hope!

"Once the connection is lost, we can only stay for a short while. But we'll buy you time—that house-elf can take you away, take you back to Hogwarts, understand, Harry?"

"understand!"

Harry gasped as the wand slid in his hand, and he struggled to hold on to it.

"Let's get out of here," James whispered. "Prepare to run. Get out of here now!"

"Hey!"

Harry shouted, feeling he couldn't hold on any longer—he jerked his wand, the golden thread snapped, the net of light vanished, and the phoenix's song ceased—but the ghosts of those who had died at Voldemort's hands did not disappear—they surrounded Voldemort, preventing him from seeing Harry—

Boom!

Caught off guard, Harry crashed heavily to the ground. Logically, falling from that height should have left his leg unharmed, at the very least broken. But perhaps because the ground below was covered in soft soil and fallen leaves, or perhaps for some other reason, he was not seriously injured. After rolling twice on the ground, Harry got up and ran like a runaway horse toward Ron, Hermione, and Gabrielle, who were neatly arranged in a row.

"Sparkling!"

With a leap, Harry pounced on Ron and Hermione, his feet hooking around Gabrielle's neck, and then he yelled at Sparkle under the tombstone.

The little elf shuddered for a moment, then came to its senses. With a bang, it vanished from its spot and reappeared beside Nagini. Before the snake could react, it used its magical powers to pull Old Barty out of its mouth. Then, it Apparated once more and appeared beside Harry, its free hand reaching out to grab Harry's arm!

"Stop, Flash!"

The most critical thing happened. Barty Crouch Jr. was more astute than any Death Eater; he had actually realized what they were planning. His pale, deranged face, his eyes bloodshot, screamed in a hoarse voice.

"You're not allowed to leave!"

Harry's heart leaped into his throat. He knew that his master's orders were absolute to the house-elf. However, Sparkle had already shown Dobby's traits, and it was true that it had disobeyed Crouch and his son's orders. A struggle flashed across Sparkle's face. Its hand paused in mid-air for a moment, and then continued to approach Harry.

But this damned pause gave Barty Crouch Jr. an opportunity, and he threw his wand as he gave the order.

call out!

A beam of red light shot through the air and struck Sparkle precisely in the back. Harry saw that Sparkle's tennis ball-sized eyes lost their luster and fell into confusion!

Damn it!

Harry's expression of madness was now almost as intense as Barty Crouch Jr.'s. His hatred for Barty had surpassed Voldemort's by a tiny bit. They were just a hair's breadth away from escaping, and Barty Crouch Jr. had ruined that last chance!

"Stun him!"

Voldemort was still haunted by the ghosts of Harry's parents. After the gold thread disappeared, he hastily landed on the ground, still struggling with the ghosts surrounding him.

Many Death Eaters were rushing towards Harry, and a barrage of spells came down on him like a storm. Harry couldn't dodge them; he also had to protect Brilliant and the three people beneath him. He could only use the Ironclad Charm for protection, but his magical barrier couldn't even last a second under such a high density of attacks before it shattered!

He was now in dire straits; Harry was desperate. He knew he couldn't leave.

Suddenly, Barty Crouch Jr., who was at the forefront, looked surprised, and the Death Eaters chasing behind him also looked astonished. They looked at Harry and the three people he had pinned down, their eyes filled with confusion.

Harry quickly realized what was happening. He was glowing!

It wasn't just him, but also Ron, Hermione, and Gabrielle beneath him. No, the ones truly emitting the distorted glow weren't them, but rather the tracksuits they wore!

This feeling of being about to be stripped away by space!!

Harry almost cursed. This was outrageous! The gym clothes were Port keys! Professor Blaine had tampered with them; he'd turned their gym clothes into Port keys!

As Harry figured this out, he also understood why Hermione and Ron hadn't died after being hit by the Killing Curse. The gym clothes they were wearing were something Professor Blaine had mentioned in Moody's Defense Against the Dark Arts class about the three unforgivable curses. It was a trick that could block the Killing Curse in one go. No wonder Professor Blaine repeatedly emphasized that the champions should wear gym clothes, not even sparing those who were the most important people participating in the competition!

His body was disappearing, as were Ron, Hermione, and Gabrielle. Harry grabbed Brilliant, dragging along Barty's body—which Brilliant was still clinging to even in his unconscious state—into the distorted light. However—

Barty Crouch Jr. was incredibly agile. Unlike the Death Eaters who hesitated, he charged straight at them without a moment's pause. He leaped into the air, his pale face contorted with a desperate madness, determined to leave Harry behind for his master!

Harry hesitated for a moment before not knocking Barty Crouch away. He knew where they would be returning to, and where Barty Crouch would be rendered powerless and put on trial, instead of continuing to roam free with Voldemort.

This gave Barty Crouch Jr. an opportunity; his fingers were almost touching Harry—ten inches, five inches, two inches—and he would be going back to Hogwarts with them!