Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 173 Overturned Perceptions

"Bang!"

"boom!"

Ike stood quietly beside the trophy, listening to the various sounds that came from time to time, which were the sounds of others trying to solve the various dangers in the maze.

To be honest, even now Ike is still very puzzled as to why Hagrid would throw an eight-eyed spider in. In an environment like a maze, even a dragon might not be as terrifying as these cunning predators.

"Whoosh!"

Red sparks exploded in the air as one warrior was eliminated from the competition. A short while later, a person stumbled in.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Harry.

Ike raised his right hand, casting a stunning spell on Fleur, then with a wave of his hand, he concealed Fleur's figure and moved her to his side.

At the very least, he had to make sure Fleur wasn't in danger until Harry got the trophy.

Waiting is always boring, but thankfully Harry arrived soon.

He looked disheveled, his face covered in patches of white and black, and his clothes stained with blood of some unknown substance, in patches of green and red. Clearly, the maze had given him a hard time.

"A trophy!"

Harry exclaimed in surprise and, without the slightest hesitation, ran straight over and grabbed him.

The next second, he disappeared right in front of Ike.

"..."

Watching this scene silently, Ike remained completely unmoved.

This was bound to happen. From this point of view, Ike and Voldemort shared the same goal: Voldemort's resurrection must be achieved using Harry's blood.

Over the past four years, Ike has changed many things, but this is the one thing he hasn't interfered with.

Suddenly, the Black Magic Mark on his left arm felt hot.

"It's time..."

Rolling up his sleeves, Ike murmured as he looked at the skeleton and snake that seemed to come alive.

He raised his hand to dispel Fleur's illusion spell, then fired a red spark into the air with her wand. Ike's left hand gripped the broken bowl in his pocket tightly.

After the familiar feeling of being squeezed subsided, when Ike's feet finally touched the ground, he had arrived at a cemetery overgrown with weeds.

Beside him, a fire still burned beneath the enormous crucible. A tall, thin man with a pale face, bloodshot eyes, and snake-like nostrils stood in the center. At his feet lay a short man, missing an arm, weeping. A circle of people, their faces and heads concealed by black cloaks, knelt on the ground, some trembling slightly.

On the other side, a person is tied to a marble tombstone and is looking at himself with disbelief.

"You...how did you get here!"

Ignoring Harry's shouting, Ike straightened his clothes, stepped over the group of people kneeling on the ground, walked to the tall, thin man in the middle, and nodded slightly.

"teacher."

"Ah, it's little Ike, very good, very good..." Old Voldemort seemed very pleased, gently placing his right hand, which was holding the wand, on Ike's shoulder and patting him, saying loudly, "Death Eaters, my student, your little master!"

"You may have all heard his name, the champion of Hogwarts, who killed a dragon?" Old Voldemort glanced at Ike, and after receiving an affirmative response, patted Ike on the shoulder.

"Yes, dragons, what wonderful creatures..."

Comrade Lao Fu sighed, then closed his eyes slightly, sniffed with his narrow nostrils, and calmly said, "A wonderful smell, I smell guilt..."

"I see you have arrived so quickly, but why haven't you come to help your master, to help those who swore allegiance to you, in the past ten years or so?"

"I told myself, they thought I was dead..."

"I asked myself again, why don't they believe I'll come back? I think it's because they believe there's an even more powerful force, like Albus Dumbledore, the protector of Mudbloods and Muggles..."

"I'm disappointed, yes, very disappointed..." Comrade Fu's voice lowered, but then rose again, "But there are still people who believe!"

"He believes the great Dark Lord is not dead and will surely return!"

"He found one of my cowardly servants, placed a very beautiful curse on him, and drove him to find me and bring me back..."

"Master... Master..." The insect tail let out two mournful cries at just the right moment, and blood continued to flow from the severed limb.

"Yes, yes, my cowardly servant, Wormtail..." Comrade Old Fu said, looking at Wormtail, "Although you came to find me not out of loyalty, you did help me obtain a physical body."

"The great Dark Lord will not let down anyone who helps him..."

As the wand was waved, countless silver ribbons of light swirled in the air, gradually transforming into a shimmering human hand that landed on the bleeding wrist of the insect tail.

Wormtail was excited; he prostrated himself at Voldemort's feet, kissing his robes. Old Voldemort paid no heed, turning instead to walk towards the circle of kneeling men.

He spoke to each of the Death Eaters who had arrived, like a king inspecting his territory. Old Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, McNeil, Nott, Avery—every Death Eater who arrived at this moment faced the resurrected Old Voldemort with trepidation.

Comrade Old Voldemort was clearly very satisfied with their performance; he thoroughly enjoyed the pervasive fear in the air, and he was also very pleased with Old Malfoy's timely inquiries.

In the arena, Old Voldemort loudly recounted how he had returned, and the name that appeared repeatedly in his words sent a shiver down the spines of all the Death Eaters present. As for the key person mentioned by Old Voldemort, Ike stood quietly in place, his right hand gripping his wand, his hands folded in front of him, his head slightly bowed, showing no reaction.

"...Unbelievable, isn't it, Harry Potter?" Old Voldemort walked over to Harry, grabbed his cheeks hard with his left hand, and turned his head to the side so that he could see Ike in the arena.

"I heard you two are very good friends?"

"No, that's just an illusion. My beloved little Ike wouldn't be as weak as you," Old Voldemort said slowly. "Strong, cautious, powerful magic—these aren't words to describe someone who 'defeated the Dark Lord'..."

"Come here, little Ike..." Old Voldemort called out as he waved his wand to put Harry down from the tombstone.

"Wormtail, give him back his wand!"

"The great Dark Lord has decided to give you a chance..." Comrade Old Voldemort waved his hand, signaling everyone to make way. "Pick up your wand and defeat my student..."

"Then, you will face the great Dark Lord!"

Looking at the calm Ike, Harry almost bit his back teeth off, his right hand gripping his wand tightly.

"Ike Streid! You traitor! You liar!"

"Hello, Harry."

Ike replied, his right hand gripping his wand, utterly calm.

"You've let everyone down, you've let Hermione down!"

"Crushed to pieces!"

"Snapped!"

With a gentle raise of his hand, he easily blocked Harry's Shattering Charm. With a backhand swing of his wand, a beam of red light struck Harry, knocking the wand from his hand.

He caught the wand that flew towards him, then casually tossed it back. Ike calmly said, "You lost, Harry."

"Hehehe..." Old Fu was very happy and patted Ike on the shoulder with satisfaction, telling him to stand aside.

"Harry Potter, the boy who defeated the Dark Lord, was so easily defeated by my student!"

"No, that's not enough..." Old Voldemort said, looking at the Death Eaters around him, "This won't demonstrate the Dark Lord's power!"

"Come, pick up your wand and duel me!"

"I will prove my strength!"

"I will kill you!"

Harry, who was lying on the ground, was roughly pulled up by Wormtail, who shoved his wand into his hands.

"Yes, that's right. You've studied dueling, haven't you, Harry?"

"First, bow. Yes, that's the first step..." Old Voldemort waved his wand, forcefully pressing down on Harry's waist, and bowed slightly himself. "Be polite; it's a necessary courtesy..."

With another wave of his wand, Harry straightened up again.

"Don't make that face. Look at me, head held high, chest out, be more composed..."

"And then... the duel begins!"

"Extremely painful!"

Harry was struck by Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse before he could even react, the excruciating pain seemingly originating from his very soul causing him to collapse to the ground. Just as the pain subsided slightly, another Persephone Curse struck him.

"Oh, how weak! That's not like your reputation, Harry Potter..." Old Voldemort stopped the spell and looked at Harry, who was panting heavily. "Perhaps you need a little more pain!"

"Extremely painful!"

This time, Harry seized the opportunity, using both hands and feet to flip over and hide behind the tombstone, allowing Voldemort's Crucifixion Curse to strike the tombstone directly.

"We're not playing hide-and-seek, Harry," Old Voldemort said softly. "You can't hide from him. Don't you want this duel to end now?"

"Come out, come out! As you wish, the duel will soon be over..."

Just then, Harry suddenly sprang out from behind the tombstone, raising his wand high and pointing it at Old Voldemort.

"Disarm you!"

"Avada Kedavra, eating a giant melon!"

A beam of green light shot out from Old Voldemort's wand, colliding perfectly with the red light emanating from Harry's wand. Suddenly, both of them trembled as if struck by lightning.

Gradually, thin golden threads began to shimmer from the two wands, growing brighter and brighter, binding the two wands tightly together, and the two of them floated up uncontrollably.

Without realizing it, Ike quietly took a step back, calmly watching the dazzling gold in the sky and the two figures flying around uncontrollably, and shouted directly, "Chase after them!"

The Death Eaters, who were initially somewhat panicked, calmed down a bit after hearing Ike's shout. They all pulled out their wands and chased after him, surrounding Voldemort and Harry again.

Suddenly, the golden thread connecting their wands snapped, yet the wands remained firmly stuck together. Arcs of light, like electric currents, appeared from nowhere, enveloping the two like a cage.

"what!"

Comrade Old Fu let out a painful cry, and thick black smoke began to billow from his wand, gathering in the air to form one person after another.

An old man appeared first, holding a cane, followed by Bertha Jorkins; they both stared at Comrade Voltaire with resentful eyes.

One by one, the men who had perished under Old Voldemort's wand emerged. They surrounded Harry, behind a middle-aged couple.

"Ike!"

Comrade Old Fu shouted loudly, and Ike outside the light cage immediately waved his wand, and a huge white light fell directly on it, making the light cage shake for a while.

"That's it, keep going!" Old Fu continued to shout, and Ike attacked the light cage rhythmically. However, even though the light cage seemed to be about to disappear at any moment, it still stood there.

At the same time, a small portion of the ghosts surrounding Harry in the light cage automatically separated to maintain the stability of the light cage, which undoubtedly reduced the threat of Ike's attack.

"We can only stay for a short while, but we'll try to give you time," Harry's mother said softly, looking at Harry. "You must get the Portkey; it will take you back to Hogwarts..."

"I will." Harry gritted his teeth and gripped his wand tightly.

"Then, now's the time, run..."

"what!"

Harry yelled and swung his wand upwards, the light cage vanishing instantly. In a flash, the ghosts surrounded Voldemort, preventing him from seeing Harry. Others rushed out, attacking the surrounding Death Eaters, and chaos erupted.

"Stun him!" Comrade Old Fu's voice rang out, but the Death Eaters were too busy dodging the attacking ghosts to pay any attention.

Harry's parents flew towards Ike the instant the light cage disappeared, and Ike, as if startled, quickly dodged to the side. But unlike the others, upon hearing Voldemort's shout, Ike immediately spotted Harry, who was scrambling towards the trophy.

He collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious!

Harry's parents were clearly panicked. They frantically rushed towards Ike, but they were helpless against the red light that flew out.

"Bang!"

Harry, running headlong, felt something explode behind him, the immense force throwing him to the ground. For a moment, he felt despair, but soon felt ecstatic.

That force blasted him right into the trophy!

With a single reach, he grasped the handle of the trophy, and the next second, the familiar squeezing sensation returned, and Harry vanished into the graveyard.

"what!"

Ike's eyes were bloodshot as he glared angrily at Harry's parents. Harry's parents, however, smiled broadly, and Lily even winked at him before slowly dissipating into black smoke.

"Damn it! Where's Harry Potter?!"

Comrade Old Fu shouted angrily, unleashing several spells at the still-lingering black smoke in front of him as if venting his frustration. The Death Eaters immediately knelt down, prostrating themselves, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

"Tell me! Where is Harry Potter?!"

Harry, the only one who didn't kneel down, slowly walked towards Old Man Voldemort, bowed slightly, and said, "I'm sorry, teacher, Harry ran away."

"He got away! So many of you, and he just got away like that!" Old Fu shouted, kicking the kneeling insect tail beside him. "Only one spell was fired at him!"

"I'm so sorry, teacher, I was haunted by the spirits of Harry's parents, so the Stunning Spell went astray..." Ike bowed again, but was helped up by Old Voldemort.

"You're a good boy, little Ike, only you followed my orders..." Old Voldemort glared again at the Death Eaters kneeling on the ground. "Get up, you useless servants..."

"I've decided to give you another chance..."

(End of this chapter)