A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 304 Sacrifice

Harry knelt before Ron, calling out to him repeatedly. Ron, however, seemed to be having an epileptic seizure, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

No, if this continues, he'll bite his tongue sooner or later. We need to stuff something hard in Ron's mouth... Harry knows this basic first aid!

He instinctively reached out to put his hand in Ron's mouth, but after assessing the strength of the other's bite, he wisely picked up his own wand.

Harry had another internal monologue... After all, this was his own wand, and it was quite useful, plus it was Fawkes's tail feather... He couldn't bear to part with it!

So Harry picked up Ron's wand and put it in his mouth.

12 and a quarter inches...made of Erythrina wood...hardness...average.

Anyway, Ron said it wasn't very hard, and with a crack, the product made in Cedric's small workshop was left with a row of terrible cracks.

The long, thin serpentine creature emerged from Ron's chest and slithered out.

It is no more than a meter long, its whole body is green, and it has a bright red feather on its head, like a rooster's red comb.

If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a hybrid of a chicken and a snake.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 1110 ...

While Harry was focused on Ron, it secretly took the wand that Harry had placed on the ground, put it in its mouth, and then suddenly slithered across the ground.

It climbed up Riddle's thigh to his shoulder, raised its little head, and wagged its tail at the boy as if to ask for credit.

Riddle took Harry's wand, played with it gently, and laughed, "Potter, see? This is how I control Ron."

A very useful form of magic: by placing a snake inside a wizard's body, one can use the Parseltongue to remotely control them.

"That's why all the victims identified you as the perpetrator."

Harry looked up and stared intently at Riddle.

"Don't look at me like that," Riddle said with a playful smile. "You think I attacked so many wizards just to frame you?"

Besides Ron, I also placed five juvenile basilisks inside the bodies of the other victims.

"Harry," Riddle whispered, savoring every second of the other's terrified expression.

"Believe me, it's not just Ron's life or death that you need to worry about right now, but also your classmates... five lives."

And I could destroy them with a single thought... unless you help me.

Harry looked tense and almost lost control.

"Please," he said, lifting his eyelids slightly, "I'll grant you any request..."

"Excellent." Riddle's face lit up with ecstasy.

He placed the diary on the table and gently unfolded it. Each page was covered with intricate ancient magical runes and spell patterns.

Riddle held the juvenile basilisk in his hand and quietly placed it on his diary, beginning preparations for the resurrection ritual.

Voldemort went further than anyone else on his quest for immortality.

He was only sixteen when he created his first Horcrux, yet he had already discovered several resurrection spells.

But unlike the original body, Riddle, who resides in the diary, is merely a soul.

Since it was his first split, his soul fragments were indeed quite large, but still couldn't compare to his original body.

Only by constantly communicating with Ron and enticing him to share his soul and absorb his life force could he emerge from the diary.

This is just the first step!

In order to transform himself from a soul into an independent physical form, Riddle simultaneously absorbed the souls and life force of six people.

The six people who were attacked were all the breeding ground for his growth.

This is also why Dumbledore has been hesitant to act rashly; he must wait for Riddle to take back the Basilisk.

Otherwise, all of these people will die!

Now is the time to reclaim these forces.

Riddle waved his wand at the basilisk and chanted a spell.

Almost instantly, the basilisk withered away, and an invisible life force flowed into the diary.

At the same time, the five snake monsters that had been living inside other people's bodies also quickly withered up.

The soul power they absorbed all flowed into the diary.

Riddle was radiating a rich green light, and his shoulders, neck, face, and head were covered with intricate patterns of ancient magic runes and spells.

Exactly the same as in the diary.

On Riddle's head were six strange ouroboros.

"Fragments of the innocent souls can make me whole!" Riddle murmured to himself.

His current state is that of a soul transformed into a physical body.

"Come on, Harry, form a spell with me. You said it was entirely voluntary!" Riddle whispered.

Harry stood up blankly, letting Riddle play with him.

Riddle paced around the room, waving his wand and chanting ancient incantations to himself.

Thick white smoke rose in wisps, accompanying his chanting.

The life force absorbed by the basilisk was insufficient to revive the sixteen-year-old Riddle.

He wants to be resurrected.

A powerful sacrifice is needed!

The more people hate him, the closer their ties, and the more powerful the sacrifice.

Therefore, Harry was very important; Riddle chose him to complete the final sacrifice.

Having completed the magical preparations, Riddle asked loudly:

"Harry Potter, is Tom Riddle your enemy?"

"Yes!"

The white smoke swirled around Harry and Riddle.

"Are you willing to break the prison of your soul for your enemy?" Riddle asked again.

"willing!"

The white smoke completely enveloped the two of them, then merged into their bodies.

"I've granted your request," Harry shouted. "Release Ron, and release the innocent."

Riddle opened his eyes and smiled.

"This isn't over between you and me yet. There's one last step, Potter."

"You may have noticed that my condition is different from that of ordinary people."

I am attached to the diary. To be fully resurrected, I need to offer a sacrifice to release my soul from the diary.

"You captured me to use me as a sacrifice?" Harry's voice trembled. "Is this the mission you spoke of?"

Riddle chuckled. "You really don't understand, do you?"

Just then, music drifted in from somewhere.

Riddle whirled around as the music grew louder. The sound was ethereal, mysterious, and exhilarating.

A second later, a large bird flew straight toward Harry. It dropped the tattered thing from its claws at Harry's feet and then landed heavily on his shoulder.

As it folded its two enormous wings, Harry looked up and saw that it had a long, sharp golden beak and two bright, black eyes.

The large bird stopped singing. It sat quietly on Harry's shoulder, its warm cheek pressed against his, its gaze fixed firmly on Riddle.

"Phoenix." Riddle laughed. "I had just drained the Basilisk's power when Dumbledore arrived and interrupted our ritual. Unfortunately... he was too late."

"That thing—" Riddle turned his gaze back to the tattered object Fox had just thrown down, "is that the old Sorting Hat from school?"

Harry grabbed the hat and haphazardly put it on his head.

"Help me—help me—" Harry thought, his eyes pressed tightly under his hat. "Please help me."

But the Sorting Hat did not answer him.

On the contrary, the hat became tighter and tighter, as if an invisible hand was desperately clenching it.

Clang! Something hard and heavy landed on Harry's head, almost knocking him unconscious.

He grabbed the top of the hat, trying to take it off, but felt something long and hard underneath.

A gleaming silver sword appeared inside the hat, its hilt inlaid with a dazzling egg-sized ruby.

"Ah, the sword of Gryffindor." Riddle squinted.

"No wonder I couldn't find it after searching for so long; it was hidden with Dumbledore."

Suddenly, Fawkes took flight, flapping its wings rapidly as it circled above the two of them. Then, something landed on Harry's lap—the diary.

Without thinking or hesitating, Harry grabbed the Gryffindor sword, raised it high, and prepared to pierce the diary!

Riddle watched quietly from the sidelines, a smile playing on his lips.

This is the night I've waited so long for; a great rebirth is finally about to happen.

……

……

(Thanks to "Hellcat" for the generous donation)

(End of this chapter)