Chapter 338: Tom Riddle, Voldemort, the Dark Lord
Chapter 338: Tom Riddle, Voldemort, the Dark Lord
"I won?" Cedric looked at Harry with a puzzled expression, "What do you mean?"
Harry seemed to finally give up on trying to find something like an ambush in the clearing. He shrugged and said to Cedric,
"Exactly what I said. Go ahead and pick up the Triwizard Cup, Diggory. Your final battle was impressive; you deserve this honor."
After hearing Harry's words, Cedric's face showed no sign of joy. Instead, his expression darkened.
"Are you pitying me! It's clear that you are more capable of winning! Why are you giving it to me?"
Harry felt a headache coming on. He didn't know how to explain it to Cedric. After all, the Triwizard Tournament hadn't officially ended until someone picked up the cup, and the magic contract they had agreed to was still in effect, preventing him from being more explicit.
"It's not pity, and it's not a lack of respect. You are the better fit. Once you pick up the cup, I'll explain everything to you..."
Cedric glared at him, unmoved.
"I can accept sharing the cup with you, but I cannot accept a pity win! If you truly believe in me, Harry, then let's lift the cup together!"
Cedric was resolute, and Harry had no other choice but to agree. He decided to go along with it and deal with the aftermath once the cup was in their hands.
Cedric, limping slightly, walked with Harry to the Triwizard Cup. His face was filled with excitement.
As Harry had said, Cedric truly deserved to win this tournament, and under normal circumstances, Harry would have as well. But the situation was far from normal.
In contrast to Cedric, Harry seemed distracted. His gaze was not focused on the gleaming golden cup but rather on some deeper, more troubling thoughts.
"I'll count down from three, and we'll lift it together", Cedric said solemnly.
Harry nodded, and Cedric began the countdown.
"Three, two, one!"
Both of them reached out and touched the cup.
Before they could even lift it from the stone pedestal, they felt a powerful tug as if a hook had been attached to their navels, pulling them forcefully in one direction!
The scenery around them changed rapidly, and when Harry and Cedric finally came to a stop, they found themselves in a location that was definitely not part of Hogwarts!
They were on a hillside, standing in a graveyard.
Cedric looked around nervously.
"Where are we?"
Harry didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stared at the Triwizard Cup, which had briefly lost its Portkey effect, and his face showed a look of realization.
"So that's why he was so concerned about Harry's performance!"
Cedric swallowed hard, feeling that everything around them was off.
The graveyard was wrong, the strange night breeze was wrong, and even Harry, who had been brought here with him, seemed off in every way!
"You, you're not Harry!"
Harry didn't respond to Cedric's accusation. Instead, he focused on a small figure slowly emerging from the shadows.
It was a Wizard dressed in black robes, and in his arms, he held what looked like a baby, or perhaps a bundle of clothes?
Seeing the person who had arrived, Harry silently slipped his hand into his sleeve, his gaze fixed on the figure standing six feet away, motionless.
A searing pain, like a branding iron, shot through his left arm!
The intensity of the burning sensation was unlike anything he had ever experienced before!
"Let go of what you're holding... Nagini! Grab the other boy!"
A sharp, cold voice, as if having discovered something, suddenly rang out from the bundle in the black-robed wizard's arms!
The "Harry" whose physical form was gradually changing suddenly sensed a massive creature intruding into his domain, right behind him!
Dumbledore's advanced transfiguration had failed, and Sherlock, who had already reverted to his original form, didn't immediately tend to the feather in his right hand. Instead, he abruptly extended his left hand to pull Cedric, who was a step behind him, closer to himself!
However, as he grabbed Cedric's sleeve, the massive python, Nagini, which had suddenly rushed from behind, had already completely wrapped around Cedric!
Under Sherlock's strong pull, only a piece of the sleeve tore off!
"So it's you... Sherlock Forest! Let go of what you're holding, or this boy will die!"
The cold voice rang out again, and Cedric, immobilized by Nagini, could only stare in shock at Sherlock, his entire body exposed only by his head.
"Professor Forrest!"
"Don't be afraid."
Sherlock spoke softly, his gaze fixed on the bundle in the black-robed wizard's arms. The object he had been holding in his right hand, no longer hidden, emerged from his sleeve.
It was a golden-red feather, as if plucked from one of the instrument birds in the Headmaster's Office.
At that moment, a swooshing sound came from the sky.
Countless wizards, dressed in black robes and wearing the iron masks that had spread fear throughout the wizarding world for over a decade, rode on broomsticks and hovered above the black-robed figure.
Each of them raised their wands, pointing them down at Sherlock and Cedric, who was entangled by Nagini!
"Drop what you're holding, Sherlock! Do you want to watch your student die in front of you?"
The cold, sharp voice rang out again, and as it did, Nagini's coils tightened noticeably.
Cedric's breathing grew more rapid, but he remained silent, not even calling out for Sherlock to save him.
Sherlock remained unmoved, and he said coldly,
"Let go? If I let go now, we'll both die here. First, have your pet release my student, and I promise to drop what I'm holding."
"You dare to make conditions! Do you know who I am!"
"Tom Riddle, Voldemort, the Dark Lord, do you have any other names?"
When Sherlock uttered the name of the fragile being in the bundle, the air on the hillside seemed to fall into a dead silence.
The Death Eaters on their broomsticks, wands pointed at Sherlock, held their breath until Voldemort's icy voice slowly sounded.
"You know everything? So, what have you figured out?"
(End of Chapter)
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