His gaze swept past Harry and landed on Audrey.
"Oh, what a beautiful face. Even those Veelas pale in comparison to you."
Audrey had already entered her Spectator state, observing his every move carefully.
So this is the true culprit behind the scenes? He revealed himself so easily? Huh? Why does he feel...oddly dissonant?
"Wh-Who are you?"
Harry involuntarily trembled. He didn't even know this man, hadn't done anything to him—but still, the fear was uncontrollable. His heart pounded violently, and even his chest began to ache.
"Oh? You've forgotten me already?"
The man's expression suddenly turned sinister.
"Who would've thought, the great Dark Lord, defeated by a wailing infant. Ridiculous. Shameful! That's why I must kill you with my own hands—to prove that I'm better than him—"
He suddenly broke off and spread his arms, laughing loudly.
"Still haven't figured it out? I am Voldemort!"
Voldemort?!
Harry stood there, dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at Voldemort—this was the man who had murdered his parents, along with so many innocent people.
And in the next instant, that blankness was consumed by overwhelming hatred and fury.
Harry raised his wand and cast one of the few offensive spells he knew—
"Expelliarmus!"
The spell shot forward in a bright beam, but Voldemort dodged it effortlessly, twirling his wand between his fingers as he spoke in Parseltongue, "No, no, Harry. I'm not your opponent."
The massive stone face of Slytherin behind him began to move. Its mouth opened wider and wider, eventually forming a gaping black hole. From within, came a slithering, rustling sound.
"Ssssss!"
A massive form wriggled out from the darkness, its heavy body dragging slowly across the dusty floor, making a grating sound.
"T-This is…"
Harry stared in horror at the gigantic creature before him—it was a serpent. A massive one. It flicked its tongue, mouth full of blade-like fangs. But where its eyes should be, there were only two deep scars—it had been blinded.
"Kill him!"
The serpent reared up and lunged at Harry like a shadowy blur.
"Stupefy! Incendio! Confringo…!"
Audrey's wand released spell after spell, striking the serpent, but they barely harmed it—instead, they only enraged it. The creature changed targets and charged toward Audrey.
"Stay away from that girl, you fool! She can't die yet!"
The serpent thrashed its head violently, reluctantly turning away from Audrey, and once again set its sights on Harry.
"Harry, run back the way we came! Use that language to close the door again!"
Harry scrambled backward in a panic, crawling and tripping, but the serpent was gaining on him. He could already smell the putrid stench from its maw.
"Fiendfyre!"
Blazing red fire spiraled toward the serpent's tail, igniting it in mere seconds. The flames climbed rapidly upward.
"SSSSSSS!!"
The snake let out a piercing shriek, thrashing wildly in pain.
"Finite Incantatem."
Unfortunately, Fiendfyre didn't last long—Voldemort dispelled it quickly. Still, nearly a third of the serpent's tail had been burned to cinders.
"Sssssss!"
Driven mad with rage, the serpent ignored Voldemort's command and lunged straight at Audrey.
"Fool!!"
"Rooaaar!"
Audrey gripped her dragonbone wand tightly. Her pupils flashed golden, and golden scales slowly spread across her skin.
Just then, a thought struck her—she let out a loud, strange hissing noise.
"Shhhkk!"
The serpent abruptly froze two or three meters from her, its body quivering as it emitted a low, anguished moan from deep in its throat.
It crashed to the ground, shrieking as it violently bashed its head against the floor, then the walls, leaving pools of crimson blood.
"You fool, what are you doing?!"
"SSSSSS!!!"
Bang!
The serpent made one final, desperate slam, using all its strength to smash its blood-soaked head against a stone pillar. The impact cracked it open. Its body went limp, and gradually, it stopped moving.
Voldemort was completely stunned by the sudden turn of events.
"You useless wretch! Worthless idiot!" he roared furiously.
Buzz.
A glimmer of radiant light began to shine from the hole in the serpent's shattered skull. It turned into a streak of energy and flew toward Audrey, landing in her palm.
It was a snake-shaped pendant, with two gleaming gemstones set in its eye sockets—so brilliant and captivating it felt impossible to look away.
Audrey immediately realized, "This must be the secret the Sorting Hat spoke of…"
"Miss Hall."
A voice came from behind.
Harry had returned, holding his hands up in surrender. Behind him, someone pressed a wand firmly against the back of his head—
It was one of the Weasley twins—George.
"Throw the locket over. Now!"
———
Night had fallen over the Austrian Alps, and the cold wind blowing from across the mountain had become bone-chilling. From deep within the pitch-black forest came the occasional beastly roar, followed by long stretches of silence.
Edward pulled his coat tighter around himself, dragging his exhausted body back to Nurmengard. Technically, today's training session wasn't over yet, but his spirituality had been releasing disconcerting signals for some time. He couldn't tell whether it was due to sheer exhaustion or an Astrologer's instinctive sense of looming danger.
Over the past three days, he'd barely gotten ten hours of sleep. The rest of his time had been crammed with relentless, force-fed learning.
He had more or less mastered the Fiendfyre Charm and could barely manage the Incendio Draconis. But more importantly, he had learned Grindelwald's unique transfiguration technique—allowing him to change his appearance and body shape freely, without the use of Polyjuice Potion.
Upon returning to his small room, Edward immediately lit the fireplace and huddled beside it, rubbing his hands for warmth.
Just then, a small lump appeared under the center of his blanket and began to slowly inch its way toward the edge. Soon, a furry little head poked out and let out a soft "Awoo!"
Edward blinked in surprise, then slapped his chest repeatedly, pretending to be startled.
"Merlin's beard, Lilith! You gave me a fright!"
"Hee hee."
Lilith raised her head proudly. "Miss Lilith has been hiding inside for a looong time!"
"Amazing, amazing! Lilith's the best!"
Edward showered her with praise like it cost him nothing, which made her giggle with delight.
Just then, a wave of intense unease washed over him, quickly followed by an alarming spiritual disturbance.
He immediately cast the Shielding Charm (Protego) on himself and scanned his surroundings—but found nothing.
"This anxiety…isn't coming from me?"
A realization struck him. He pulled out a coin and flicked it into the air.
"Audrey is in danger."
Clink!
The coin landed in his hand—the head was facing up.
———
[Hogwarts Underground—The Chamber of Secrets]
George pressed his wand to the back of Harry Potter's head and stretched out a hand toward Audrey.
"Throw me the locket. Now!"
"George?"
"No—he's not George!"
Harry's cheek was swollen, having been struck when the impostor grabbed him earlier.
"He must be someone in disguise!"
But 'George' didn't react to his words. He only repeated coldly, "Throw it over. Or I'll kill him."
"Well done, Peter!"
Voldemort laughed. "This ends here and now."
Audrey's golden eyes flickered as she tried to stay calm.
I must not let them seize control…but he has a hostage, and his magic is stronger than mine.
Then what can I do?
The Spectator state lets me see the truth—and as a Telepathist…
She stepped back a few paces and silently whispered the Disillusionment Charm. Her figure vanished.
Voldemort immediately hissed in Parseltongue, "Close!"
The stone wall that had disappeared earlier reappeared, slamming shut and blocking the way out.
"Don't bother trying. You can't escape."
Under the cloak of invisibility, Audrey silently repositioned herself. As she spoke, she unleashed a ripple of spiritual energy:
"George…would you really kill Harry Potter?"
Zap!
A spell shot from George's wand—but missed.
"Have you forgotten who you are? Forgotten who Harry is?"
"Is this really what you want to do?"
Another spell burst forth, and again, it missed.
"Peter Pettigrew…I've heard of you. Cowardly and timid, always cared for by Harry's father…but when the time came to stand against Voldemort, you betrayed your friends—and got them killed."
Harry's whole body stiffened.
My parents…were betrayed by a friend?
"You thought you could earn a place on Voldemort's ship. But the great Dark Lord was defeated by a baby, and so—you faked your death. Turned into a rat, living in filth, trembling with fear every single day."
"Shut up!"
"Over a decade has passed, and you're still the same pathetic coward. A joke!"
"Otherwise, why would you still be hiding like a rat, slinking in the shadows, doing all the dirty work?"
"You think betraying your friends will earn you Voldemort's favor? No one respects a traitor. When he's done using you, he'll toss you aside like garbage—and you'll go right back to being a pitiful little rodent."
"Your whole life…has been lived in disgrace, cowardice, and humiliation!"
"SHUT UP!!!"
George howled, wildly flinging curses with his wand.
"Harry! Duck!"
Harry instinctively dropped down. Audrey's figure suddenly appeared from the side—
"Crucio!"
"Expelliarmus! Stupefy!"
Three spells flew in succession—the first from Voldemort, the next two from Audrey.
Audrey dove to the side, barely avoiding Voldemort's curse, but her own Disarming Charm missed its mark. By the time she got back up, "George" already had his wand aimed at her.
She raised her head, locking her golden eyes on his.
"Don't forget who you are—George Weasley!"
George's pupils contracted. Veins bulged on his face, and his hand clenched his wand so tightly it twisted.
He opened his mouth with great pain and forced the words out:
"Get—out—of—my—head!!"
Suddenly, George's wand spun away from Audrey and pointed at himself. A flash of red light—
"Stupefy!"
Boom!
George flew backward and collapsed, unconscious.
Audrey didn't relax. She jumped up, immediately casting another Shielding Charm, her golden eyes sweeping rapidly around the chamber.
Just then, Voldemort's furious voice rang out behind her.
"NO!!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
Audrey barely had time to turn her head—before the deep green light engulfed her completely.
She crumpled to the ground without a sound.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.