I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 331 Betrayal?

Voldemort looked at Harry with a forced smile.

He didn't feel much anger towards this nemesis who dared to insult him.

He simply raised his hand, stopping the Crucifixion Curse on Cho Chang and Gabriel, and then cast it on Harry.

Then, the two girls, who had been in so much pain that they had fainted and could no longer make a sound, their bodies convulsing helplessly, suddenly felt lighter.

Then a scream came from Harry's mouth.

However, the moment Voldemort cast the Crucifixion Curse on Harry, he realized he had fallen into a trap.

The young man in front of him was so outspoken, he just wanted to provoke him so that he would let the two girls go.

"Heh—" Having understood everything, the magic in his hand involuntarily increased.

He only stopped when Harry was so badly tortured that he could barely breathe.

"I'm going to kill you, Harry Potter!" Voldemort walked up to Harry, looking down at him. "I'm going to destroy you."

His eyes were filled with a triumphant pity, a relief born of fear, and a complex gaze fixed on Harry's already drooping eyelids.

"After tonight, no one will question my power anymore."

He grabbed Harry by the neck, forcing him to look him in the eye. "After tonight, if people talk about you, they'll only say how you begged me to kill you."

"And I, in my kindness, granted your request."

Voldemort laughed, a cruel laugh suddenly appearing on his face.

"Wait, Master!" Suddenly, someone from the Death Eaters spoke up.

A wizard wearing a mask and a black robe walked over.

He was tall and stood out from the crowd.

Moreover, the voice was quite familiar.

Harry swore he'd heard it somewhere before.

"What? What do you want to say?" Voldemort looked at the impudent fool who dared to interrupt him with displeasure. If he didn't have a good enough reason, he wouldn't mind turning him into a real ghost!

"Master, I meant no harm in spoiling your enjoyment," the man said humbly. "But for the sake of our great cause, Master, keeping them might have other uses."

"Stay?" Voldemort gave him a deep look.

The man immediately lowered his posture further.

He almost crawled on the ground.

"Lucius, my cunning friend," he whispered, "I've heard you haven't abandoned your past ways. Despite the respectable facade you put on in front of the world, I believe you're still willing to lead the torment of Muggles, aren't you?"

"Yes, my dear master," Lucius Malfoy's voice came quickly from under the hood.

"You've always done a good job in seeking pleasure. But you've never gone looking for me, Lucius. Wouldn't it have been better if you spent your energy finding and helping your master?" Voldemort asked softly.

"Master, I have been paying close attention," Lucius replied in a trembling voice. "As soon as I receive any signal from you, or hear any rumors about your whereabouts, I will rush to your side immediately. Nothing can stop me."

"Ha—" Voldemort sneered, "Sweet talk."

"It seems you've prepared an escape route for yourself, hasn't it?"

"I remember last year you seemed to hide behind the crowd and didn't show up. What? Are you disappointed to see me like this now?"

"No, Master, my loyalty to you has never wavered. Those are just rumors. You know, someone is trying to sow discord—"

"Enough!" Voldemort snapped.

Lucius immediately shut his mouth, prostrated himself on the ground, and trembled uncontrollably.

Voldemort disliked this cunning servant, but wasn't he useful?

Whether it's connections within the Ministry of Magic or key positions in other countries.

Overall, he won't kill Lucius Malfoy right now, but sometimes cutting flesh with a dull knife is more cruel.

"Lucius, I hope you will serve me more loyally from now on."

"Of course, of course, my master," Lucius replied immediately. "Please rest assured, you are very magnanimous. Thank you."

"I hope you can etch those words into your bones." Voldemort stopped looking at him and turned back to Harry.

"However, you are right about one thing."

"Killing them would indeed be a huge waste."

With that, he waved his hand and unlocked the chains binding Harry.

A Death Eater nearby reacted quickly and captured him.

"Before that, how about we enjoy a good show?"

"Durant," Voldemort called to his servant.

Upon hearing his name, the male wizard who presided over the entire resurrection ceremony immediately stood up excitedly.

"These are all promising young talents," he said casually, his tone carrying a strange, teasing emphasis.

"Yes, Master, it's all ready." The Death Eater named Durant immediately got up and quickly walked to the stairwell, returning about half a minute later.

He left with empty hands, but returned with more things in his hands.

That was a corrupt thing.

Its shape resembles an unopened flower bud.

Roots emerge from the bottom of the bud, like some kind of tentacles.

Then the Death Eaters who were binding the young wizards all reached out and pinched their mouths shut, forcing them to open their mouths.

The Death Eaters wanted them to eat that thing!

The idea flashed through everyone's mind.

This is obvious.

But nobody knows what the consequences of eating that stuff will be; in short, it will definitely not be good.

What to do!

Harry thought anxiously, glancing at the young wizards behind him who were bound. He saw Cho Chang and Gabrielle lying on the ground, still convulsing.

It's all his fault!

Harry gritted his teeth and struggled desperately. He watched as the strange plant, so familiar from his dreams, was brought to him by Durant. In this moment of despair, he instinctively looked at Owen.

Perhaps even he himself found it absurd, but until this point, Harry believed that Owen must have a way to lead them out.

He himself was unaware of this blind trust.

Meanwhile, Owen, on whom Harry placed high hopes, was now standing before an endless palace of memories.

He was not afraid of Bella's Legilimency spell. Not to mention that he was already very skilled at Occlumency, even the infinite palace behind him, built on the ancient magical principle of reversion, could not detect any of his memories.

Of course, the reason why Owen did not expel Bella's intrusive consciousness immediately, but instead lured her here, was simply because of some doubts in his heart.

"Senior Tom's plan is perfect."

Before the palace, Owen lazily gazed at the shadowy figures flickering in the darkness in the distance. They were all manifestations of external consciousness.

"Even now, I still can't figure out who rigged the match. First it was Ludo Bagman, and now? Barty Crouch Jr.? I haven't seen him this year?"

Because he had sent Peter Pettigrew to Azkaban beforehand, Barty Crach Jr. should not have broken free from his father's control at this time.

Of course, this is just his guess.

To this day, he still hasn't figured out which professor in the castle is an imposter.

Then he continued, "There's another problem."

Irving narrowed his eyes.

With a meaningful look in his green eyes, he gazed at the black mist. "Why is Senior Tom so sure that Miss Granger is the inheritor of ancient magic?"

If Tom acknowledged her abilities, then that's why he believed it.

"Why didn't you remind him?"

Irving was referring to what he did in Azkaban during his second year summer vacation, when he killed many Death Eaters, including Bella's husband and a man named Rozier.

Looking back now, Rozier might actually be a distant relative of his!

Due to the dim lighting and limited perspective, only Sirius Black and Bella witnessed his killings.

He had used magic to alter Bella's consciousness; she couldn't possibly have forgotten him.

Therefore, if Voldemort's method of finding a successor was based on the principle of respecting the strong, then it would be impossible for him not to be considered.

unless--

"When did you betray him?" Owen suddenly teased.

The sound was like a sharp sword, piercing directly into the black mist.

The next second, the black mist could no longer contain itself. It materialized into a person, who floated in front of him, staring wide-eyed, and roaring, "No, I didn't."

"I don't!!!"

"Heh—" Irving chuckled noncommittally.

He thought his modification experiment had failed!

It seems that we've achieved some success!

"Of course, you must have your own reasons, otherwise how can you convince yourself?" He said with a hint of sarcasm, then rubbed his head and looked at the figure in front of him with a half-smile. "Tell me your reasons, I'm all ears."

Owen's words slightly moved the figure in front of her; a ferocious look flashed across her face, but it was only for a moment before she recovered.

"I will always be loyal to the great Dark Lord."

"But what?" Irving retorted sarcastically.

Bella ignored him and continued, "The current Dark Lord—ever since he received some kind of mysterious power on the island of Mothrace."

"So he became neither human nor ghost, as if he had become a different person? As if another person had taken over his body?" Owen looked at her directly and suddenly understood Bella's logic.

She firmly believed that she had not betrayed the Dark Lord. However, the Dark Lord of today was not the same as before. Senior Tom must have obtained the power of the Outer God, which caused his soul to undergo some kind of mutation. Moreover, that change should be very obvious, otherwise how could his loyal dog have a divided heart?

"So, what do you want?"

No one gets up early without a reason. If he didn't have something this woman wanted, why would she be wasting her breath talking to him?

Upon hearing this, the black mist that had formed Bella's likeness became even more solid. Owen could even see the lines of her skin.

Compared to before, the elegant air of the Black family emanating from her has become more pronounced, while her savage madness seems to have receded like the tide.

Of course—she still acts like a crazy woman.

But her remaining madness makes her seem more like a witch in the traditional sense than a pure lunatic.

"What I want is the real Dark Lord to be resurrected, the real one." Her hair was styled into a headband, with a few stray strands falling from her temples and forehead. She wore a black, openwork dress and a long robe.

She was wearing black knee-high boots.

It's hard to reconcile this Bellatrix Lestrange with the madwoman she once was, especially her eyes—black eyes with a clarity as clear as flowing water.

Those are the eyes of only the rational, because they know exactly what they want. (ps: more like the character in the movie Sweeney Todd.)

"The real Dark Lord!" she emphasized, even though she had emphasized it many times.

"The Dark Lord—isn't there another one in North America?" Owen couldn't help but laugh out loud while staring at her. (Actor reference)

"Okay, no more joking around." He replied with a smile, "Of course, I mean, no problem, I suddenly had a great idea—a brilliant one."

"But there's one thing you have to promise me." Irving lowered his voice and whispered something.

The next second, Bella's expression changed, and she said in a slightly mocking tone, "I think you have absolutely no idea what your situation is. You have no right to bargain with me. I could kill all the other junior wizards and just let you go back, and I don't think the Dark Lord would say anything."

"Oh—you're right." Owen waved his hand. "Negotiation is based on strength, so it seems I need to demonstrate some strength. Otherwise, I'll really be underestimated."

As he spoke, he suddenly swung his arm, as if wielding a sharp sword, and swung it towards the nothingness before him.

The next second, Bella felt as if her head had been hit hard with a sledgehammer, and then her whole body went numb.

In her dazed state, she seemed to hear Owen's voice, "Don't forget our agreement. Give me the things, and I'll exchange them for your 'little boyfriend'."

Subsequently, the voyeuristic intent was severed.

Bella's gaze returned to reality, to her own body.

-

"Fire Release—"

Just as Harry was on the ground, almost in despair, a fierce blue and white flame shot straight at him.

"No—" he screamed instinctively, raising his hand to try and stop them.

But when the flames swept over him, Harry felt no burning sensation whatsoever.

Instead, the Death Eater who was binding him, and the Death Eater named Durant who was trying to stuff something into his mouth, let out a scream.

Flames burst from his mouth, eye sockets, nose, and chest.

Before they could even scream, the two of them were burned to ashes by the flames.

"Protection—"

Several Death Eaters attempted to attack Owen, but their spells were all consumed by flames.

One of them, taking advantage of a gap in the flames, rushed towards him. Owen merely glanced at him, and with a cold laugh, he flicked his finger slightly. The flames instantly and mercilessly engulfed him. He screamed and struggled in the flames, then quickly turned into a huge burning body. Soon after, everything combustible on his body turned to ashes, and his body completely disappeared from this world.

Irving seemed oblivious to the horrific sight. He raised his wand with force, steady and calm, as if he had transformed into a conductor of a grand concert.

Under his guidance, the flames were given life, and all the pillars of fire quickly merged together.

The flames seemed determined to burn all living beings present and to dominate the world with their will.

The heat surged and began to transform, turning into a large group of beasts made of flames: fire serpents, chimeras, fire dragons, basilisks, and man-headed lions with scorpion tails. Under Owen's control, they tumbled and roared, slid from the sky to the ground, and then soared into the air again.

They attacked the stunned Death Eaters, showing them what true hell was like.

The first to suffer was Lockhart, who dared to restrain Miss Grankin.

In fact, most of the Death Eaters present escaped, except for Owen's initial sneak attack and the Death Eaters who dared to attack him and were sent to their deaths.

After all, this spell wasn't cast instantly; they had time to react.

Lockhart, however, was out of luck.

He had devoted all his talent to the Oblivion Spell, and his understanding of Defense Against the Dark Arts was superficial, even less than that of some junior wizards.

As the fierce fire burned him, Lockhart couldn't even properly utter the phrase "all curses end."

It was immediately engulfed by the flames.

"Origin - Earth Flame"

Origin magic, calamity type.

This is one of the origin magics invented by ancient sorcerers based on their observation of volcanic eruptions.

Unlike the three major star-gazing spells, calamity-type magic has a more direct and visible power, but the casting time is also greatly extended.

However, Irving's use of the fire shield bought him some time.

A brief incantation.

He held his wand and quickly drew many ancient runes in the air.

These exquisite magical characters were all integrated into the local area.

Then, Irving suddenly raised his right foot and slammed it hard on the ground.

In an instant—lava erupted from the ground.

Black fireworks and dark red, flowing lava seeped directly into the top of the Tower of Azkaban.

The rubble and debris were blasted away with a loud bang.

In front of Owen, where Voldemort was, it looked as if a bunker-buster missile had exploded, or as if a volcano had erupted.

A small mushroom cloud rose into the air from the crimson flames.

A quarter of the Tower of Azkaban was reduced to ashes under this curse.

Then, Irving simply stopped caring about the Death Eaters.

The moment Lockhart turned to ashes, Miss Granger, who was about to collapse, fell into Owen's arms.

After casting the Source Stream magic.

He began casting spells with his left hand, without a staff.

"Help me recover quickly—"

Green fluorescent light seeped into her skin, and new granulation tissue began to connect at a visible speed. Soon, her right arm was completely healed.

Her skin was as fair and smooth as a newborn baby's, without a single scar.

It was only then that Owen noticed how thin Miss Granger had become.

"Miss Granger, you've gotten so thin," he said, somewhat shocked.

Hermione, however, was only mentioned by him.

The girl's eyes welled up with tears, and then large tears, like countless grievances, streamed down her cheeks and dripped onto the ground.

(End of this chapter)