I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 574 Cursing

That night, Harry had a dream.

The night in my dream was damp and windy.

Two children dressed as pumpkins toddled across the square. Shop windows were covered in paper spiders and other tacky Muggle trinkets, adorning a world they didn't believe in...

He moved with an air of nonchalance, carrying that sense of purpose, power, and righteousness that always welled up within him in such situations… not anger… that only a weaker soul could feel… but victory, yes… he had been waiting for this moment, longing for this moment…

"You look beautifully made up, sir!"

A little boy ran over and looked under the cloak's hood, his smile faltering as fear enveloped his painted face.

The child turned and ran away… his hand beneath his robes grasped his wand… with the slightest movement, the child would never reach his mother again… but there was no need, absolutely no need…

He walked down a new, even darker street, his destination finally coming into view. The curse of unwavering loyalty had been broken, but they didn't know it yet… His voice was softer than the rustling of fallen leaves on the pavement. He crept to the dark hedge and peered inside…

They hadn't drawn the curtains, and he could clearly see that they were in the small living room, where a tall, bespectacled, dark-haired man was using a wand to spray out bursts of colorful smoke, amusing the dark-haired boy in blue pajamas.

The child giggled as he reached for the smoke, stuffing it into his little bowl...

A door opened, and his mother walked in, speaking words he couldn't hear, her long, deep red hair hanging down beside her face.

The father picked up his son and handed him to the mother, then tossed the wand onto the sofa, stretched, and yawned…

The door opened with a soft thud.

But James Porter didn't hear it.

A pale hand drew a wand from under the cloak, pointed it at the door, and it opened with a thud.

As he crossed the threshold, James rushed into the hallway with ease, so easy that he didn't even pick up his wand.

"Lily, take Harry and get out of here! It's him! Run! I'll hold him off—"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Green light filled the narrow foyer, illuminating the stroller leaning against the wall.

James Potter collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

He heard her screaming upstairs. There was nowhere to escape, but as long as she had any sense, at least she herself didn't need to be afraid...

He climbed the stairs and heard her trying to shield herself with something, finding it somewhat amusing… She didn’t have a wand either… How foolish, how gullible they were, thinking they could entrust their safety to a friend, thinking they could discard their weapons even for a moment…

He burst through the door, lazily waved his wand, and tossed aside the chairs and boxes she had hastily piled behind the door… She stood there, holding the child in her arms.

Upon seeing him, she placed her son in the cradle behind her, spreading her arms wide as if that would do some good, as if hoping that by blocking the child, he would choose her instead…

"Don't kill Harry! Don't kill Harry! Please, don't kill Harry!"

"Get out of the way, you foolish woman... get out of the way..."

"Don't kill Harry, please, kill me instead, kill me."

"This is my final warning—"

"No, please, have mercy, have mercy."

"Get out of the way—"

He could have pushed her away from the cradle, but it seemed safer to eliminate her completely.

A green light flashed in the room, and she collapsed like her husband.

The child didn't cry. He was able to stand up, gripping the cradle railing, and looked up with great interest at the intruder's face, perhaps thinking it was his father hiding in his cloak, conjuring up more beautiful fireworks, while his mother was about to jump up laughing—

He very carefully pointed the wand at the little boy's face.

He wanted to see it happen with his own eyes, to watch this unique, inexplicable danger be destroyed.

The child started crying, realizing he wasn't James.

He disliked the crying; he could never stand the wailing of the children in the orphanage.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The green light flashed and he shattered. He was nothing. His body dissolved, and his soul was exposed to the air. Pain and fear overwhelmed him.

He had to hide. Get out of this house, get far, far away!

"Harry—are you alright, Harry!!!"

The scene changes.

He is frantically whipping a group of demons.

"Extremely painful!"

"Heart-Rending Curse!" The red light of the Heart-Rending Curse struck the group of demons before them.

Then these treacherous creatures began to writhe in agony.

He was frantically shouting and begging for mercy.

But he ignored it.

He continued to wave his wand wildly, as if solely for the purpose of torment.

The first few fairies quickly gave out, their bodies began to convulse, they foamed at the mouth, and finally collapsed to the ground, dead.

His attention then shifted to the ones at the back.

"Capturing thoughts and ideas."

He roughly pried open the fairies' minds and recklessly browsed their memories.

He quickly found what he wanted.

"Heh heh—when will you lowly creatures ever learn to be smart?"

"The Blade of Prometheus? Heh—very good, very good."

"Avada Kedavra!"

The next second, the green light shone again, accompanied by a sharp, piercing sound, and several lives were lost. Compared to their companions, they seemed to have escaped more easily.

"No—no!" Harry shouted.

But suddenly, he seemed to transform into that cruel Voldemort.

He was burning the demons' corpses with flames.

"Um?"

Those eerie green eyes suddenly changed.

next second.

Harry felt his body shrink back to its original size. He had become a baby again. He was back in his cradle.

Voldemort, who had already killed his mother, suddenly stopped holding his wand.

"We meet again, Potter!"

"You're still so cowardly, hiding like a mouse."

"Where are you now?"

"Oh—let me see, it's in Godric Valley. I can see the ruins of your house from my window."

"Get out! Get out of my head!!!" Harry yelled, feeling his body spiraling out of control, his consciousness trapped inside, unable to escape.

"Ha ha—" Voldemort laughed wildly, "Oh—our savior has found a girlfriend. Heh heh—the same annoying redhead."

"Extremely painful!"

"ah--"

In a daze, Harry heard a scream. The sound was very distant, but he still recognized it as Ginny's voice.

"Let her go, come at me, you coward, come at me if you dare!!!" Harry charged at Voldemort, baring his teeth and claws.

But he was too young.

Just a baby.

Voldemort raised his hand and slapped him to the ground, where he fell into his mother's arms.

"You're just like your foolish father," Voldemort said with a cold laugh.

"Arrogant and overconfident. He thinks he can defeat the great Voldemort!"

"My father was a hero!" Harry shouted. "He was a hero who died fighting monsters like you!"

"Ha ha—" Voldemort suddenly burst into laughter, "A hero who tries to use his body to resist a curse like a Muggle? Potter—that's the dumbest joke I've ever heard."

"He died because of his arrogance, laziness, and disdain for others. Perhaps you didn't see it."

As Harry spoke, the scene before his eyes blurred.

He arrived at their doorstep.

"Your foolish father doesn't even have a wand. If he did, perhaps your equally foolish mother might have had a chance to escape."

As they spoke, Voldemort entered their house again and, in front of Harry, killed his father once more.

"No—!" Harry screamed, his voice filled with anguish.

But Voldemort remained unmoved.

He even found it amusing that he would resurrect his father, then kill him, then resurrect him again and shoot the Cruciatus Curse, laughing loudly as his father screamed in agony. Then he would kill him again.

"Oh—this game is really interesting. I never thought memories could be manipulated like this. Potter—what do you think? Is it fun?" Voldemort looked at Harry with a frenzied expression.

And Harry—he looked even smaller, like a baby unable to stand. Curled up, numb and expressionless.

It's like a body without a soul.

"Okay—I admit, it gets boring quickly if it keeps going like this." Voldemort stepped over James's corpse. "But at least there's a toy there."

"Oh—how should I punish this foolish woman who's getting in my way? Potter—don't play dead—give me a suggestion."

"I'm going to kill you!!!"

"Yes, yes, hehe—I think if you have enough strength, you might as well think about my question. Perhaps this merciful Voldemort will free you as soon as possible."

They went up to the second floor.

I could hear sounds coming from inside the room—Lily was frantically moving things to block the door.

"Tsk tsk—look, another idiot."

Voldemort waved his hand and unleashed a spell.

The door was blown open.

"Come on, Potter, let's move on to the next game."

Harry stared wide-eyed at his mother, watching her about to die at Voldemort's hands once again.

A surge of helplessness and anger welled up within him.

He couldn't understand why Voldemort had such power to suppress him, even though it was his body and his head.

This is just his or Voldemort's memory. Why didn't Occlumency work?

Look down at your own body.

Voldemort grew increasingly rampant, while he grew weaker and weaker.

Perhaps in a little while, he will transform from an infant into nothingness, and at that time he may completely disappear.

Wait a minute—suddenly, Harry seemed to realize something.

"Hey—Potter, what are you standing there for! The show is about to begin." Voldemort laughed arrogantly.

He raised his wand and aimed it at Lily.

"A good show? What good show?" Harry suddenly said, looking up at Voldemort angrily. "To watch a motherless bastard humiliate himself like this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Harry felt himself enveloped in a chilling aura.

A palpable killing intent surged up at him like a tidal wave, nearly knocking him unconscious.

"Heh—" Harry gritted his teeth, barely managing to stay calm. "What, did I reopen someone's old wound?"

"Oh—I heard that someone was abandoned at the gate of an orphanage by his mother. What a bastard woman. How could there be such a mother in this world? I feel so sorry for that bastard."

"What did you say?" Voldemort stared coldly at Harry. The murderous intent in his eyes was almost tangible.

"Are you deaf? I fucking say you're a bastard, a monster spawned by love potion. A heartless ingrate. A thief, a murderer, a fool who's failed countless times." Harry pointed at Voldemort's nose and cursed.

For some reason, as his voice grew louder, his body gradually increased in size, quickly returning from an infant to its normal size.

Just as I thought!

Harry thought to himself.

This is a world of memories. Voldemort has invaded his brain. At this moment, they are competing in willpower. When his emotions become volatile, his willpower will weaken, thus putting him at a disadvantage.

Once he understood this, Harry immediately began searching his memory for all the information he had about Tom Riddle.

Dumbledore showed him many of Tom's memories last year.

Irving has also spoken about Tom's background.

He knew Voldemort inside and out.

"Oh—did I hit a sore spot?" Harry said dismissively. "I don't know where you get the nerve, always proclaiming yourself as representing the interests of pure-bloods. Your cheapskate father who died in Little Hangleton says it's all just bullshit. When did you become a wizard yourself?"

"Enough!!!" Voldemort roared.

Everything around them began to crumble.

And in the instant that this world of memories vanished.

Harry took the opportunity to regain control of his body.

Once he regained his senses, he found himself standing in front of the living room window.

At her feet lay Ginny, groaning in pain.

Harry immediately waved his wand, breaking the spell on Ginny. Then he began frantically chanting the Occlumency spell.

"Potter, I'll kill you. In front of your stupid girlfriend."

Voldemort's voice was still roaring in my head.

"Then let's go. Cowards only know how to talk big," Harry shouted fearlessly.

The anger and hatred in his voice were no less than Voldemort's.

"Hehe—haha—" Voldemort laughed maniacally.

Then his laughter faded into the distance and grew fainter.

Until it completely disappeared from Harry's mind.

"call--"

The moment Voldemort completely disappeared, Harry collapsed to the ground.

His energy was completely depleted; he was only holding on because he was forcing himself to stay awake.

"Ginny—" He quickly looked at Ginny lying on the ground.

I crawled over to check her injuries.

After being tormented for so long, Ginny instinctively tried to dodge when she saw Harry rushing towards her.

It wasn't until Harry pulled her into his arms, the familiar warmth filling her body, that she realized Harry was back.

Then, her eyes welled up with tears, and she could no longer hold back her sobs.

"I'm sorry—I'm so sorry!" Harry said, his voice breaking with anguish.

It was his fault, and it was his fault all the time.

The crying continued for a moment, then Ginny, her eyes filled with tears, looked up and sobbed, "Quick, Harry! Get out of here! The Man Who Reveals knows we're here!"

(End of this chapter)