Chapter 677: Godric's Hollow
Chapter 677: Godric's Hollow
Felix examined the magical pattern on his wrist. It looked sinister, slowly seeping into his skin. Felix felt a stinging pain, as if the runes were probing with tiny needles, piercing his flesh.
Dumbledore's face was pale. The process of transferring the curse was not as easy as he had said, especially in his current weakened state.
Felix couldn't remember the last time he had cast a spell.
"Dumbledore!"
A wizard with short black bangs and a yellowish complexion appeared in the frame of the Headmaster's Office.
"How's the situation?" Dumbledore mustered the strength to ask.
"Two things", the wizard panted. "The International Confederation of Wizards caused an incident when they left. A student recognized Grindelwald through a subtle pattern on his clothing, and they clashed—fortunately, Mcgonagall and Babajide Akimbad intervened in time. The problem is resolved, and Grindelwald has been taken away."
"Did Gellert regain consciousness at any point?"
"No— he was unconscious the entire time."
Dumbledore nodded slightly.
"Babajide Akimbad? The new chairman?" Felix interjected, partly to distract himself. He kept thinking about burning the pattern on his wrist. He turned to Dumbledore and said:
"Didn't you tell me to keep an eye on Grindelwald recently? I did, especially around the school to prevent any zealots from doing something rash—but I didn't see his name on the Marauder's Map."
Dumbledore thought for a moment and said, "Babajide didn't mention he was coming in his letter... It must have been a last-minute decision."
"That's the second thing", the yellow-faced wizard in the frame added. "He's on his way here with Mcgonagall. They'll be here soon."
"Let me handle him, Dumbledore. Use your method", Felix said eagerly, referring to disguising himself as Dumbledore to send Babajide away.
"No, Felix, you stay here", Dumbledore said in a weak but clear voice, looking at the Headmaster portraits on the wall. "Efrayim, please go and have Minerva show Babajide a place to rest. We'll deal with everything tomorrow."
The yellow-faced wizard in the frame acknowledged and disappeared.
Facing Felix's puzzled gaze, Dumbledore said as briefly as possible, "To avoid complications—I'm heading to Harry, and you need to focus on removing the curse's original magic from me, before Gellert wakes up!"
Felix nodded, his mind sinking into concentration. On his right forearm, a cluster of bright runes now rested, looking lazy and harmless. But Felix had no doubt that if this were placed on any other wizard—even Snape—it would be unbearable.
In essence, this was a part of the curse placed on Grindelwald.
Or, to put it another way—Dumbledore had deliberately extracted a segment of the curse, modified it to be non-aggressive, and because they were from the same source, Dumbledore could sense Grindelwald's state.
The reverse was also true.
However, the bindings on Grindelwald were too strong for him to access them normally.
There were about eight hours until dawn, roughly the time Felix estimated Grindelwald would wake up. He was very confident in the strength of his spell, unless some fool used a powerful Recovery Charm on Grindelwald.
They weren't gods, but they had done everything they could—
Grindelwald's personal wand was taken away immediately, almost reducing him to a Squib. The transfer of the curse did not interfere with the binding magic on Grindelwald, but Felix couldn't detect his state until he regained control of the curse.
Moreover, Dumbledore had personally communicated with the International Confederation of Wizards about the transfer plan. During this time, Felix had closely monitored Grindelwald's unusual movements, as per Dumbledore's instructions—Neville's Scrying Mirror was not a secret, but both Felix and Hermione concluded that it was broken and had no additional magic attached.
Even so, they couldn't guarantee absolute safety.
Dumbledore wanted Grindelwald to live, even if Grindelwald's last impression of him was cold and ruthless. This made things complicated, as many tactics were off the table, and Grindelwald was never an easy opponent.
In the worst-case scenario, Grindelwald would discover that the curse's controller had changed—but that was all.
His fate would not change.
As for the Saint's prisoner rescue, it might seem like a huge problem to the International Confederation of Wizards, but once Felix mastered the spell, he could sense Grindelwald's approximate location. Unless Grindelwald was constantly moving, Felix would eventually find him.
With Felix taking the initiative, the chances of Grindelwald escaping were actually quite low—unless hundreds of wizards guarded him day and night.
After all, Grindelwald's own power was no longer at its peak.
However, Felix had a rough idea of one possibility: if the wizarding world ever exposed itself, and the situation became dire, Grindelwald could serve as a dangerous trump card. This might also be Dumbledore's thought.
...
Felix almost split his attention, focusing on mastering the spell while keeping an eye on the scene displayed in the mirror floating in the air. Voldemort had just been awakened, and he narrowed his eyes, surveying his surroundings, unable to believe he was in a forest.
"Where are we?" Voldemort asked softly after a moment.
The sun shone brightly overhead, and the grass beneath their feet was lush and green. A breeze rustled the leaves, but not far away, a massive dragon-like structure with several carriages loomed, partially visible. Despite the memory being a bit hazy, Voldemort immediately recognized it as a roller coaster, something found only in Muggle amusement parks.
Although Muggle-built roller coasters don't levitate over snowy mountains or lack tracks, Voldemort didn't find it ugly. On the contrary, he found it quite appealing and couldn't help but look at it a bit longer.
"Salazar Slytherin's Chamber", Harry said expressionlessly. "Felix—Hep", he paused, "transformed the Chamber into this."
"So, I'm several kilometers beneath Hogwarts?" Voldemort said, picking up a leaf and slowly crushing it. He smiled, his eyes glowing crimson, "Severus! I once thought you betrayed me, but I was wrong. Even the greatest can make mistakes. Accept my apologies, my loyal friend—"
As he spoke, he opened his arms, walking toward Harry as if to give him a warm embrace, celebrating his successful escape. But Voldemort stopped.
Snape's eyes were foreign to him, the usual dead silence in the black pupils now filled with something burning and blinding. He couldn't ignore it—Snape's eyes were full of hatred.
"Severus?" he said slowly, his eyes growing colder.
"Dumbledore and Hep decided to lock you away permanently, but I disagreed. That would have been too easy for you. I stole this from Dumbledore's office." Harry told a half-truth, tossing the white wand at Voldemort's feet while clutching Snape's wand.
Voldemort stared blankly at the wand on the ground. He wouldn't mistake it; it was his first wand, immensely powerful. If Dumbledore hadn't taken it, he never would have considered a replacement.
He thought he had lost it forever, but now, his wand appeared before him in a dramatic turn of events.
There was no joy in recovering what he had lost; he was more surprised by Snape's attitude. "Pick it up, we will duel", Harry said coldly. "I've placed anti-apparition spells around us; you can't escape." Voldemort looked at him with a malicious gaze. Harry expected him to ask questions, like demanding the reason, but Voldemort didn't. He extended his hand, and the wand flew into it.
His long fingers lightly caressed the wand that belonged to him. "I didn't know you hated me so much, Severus? Why?" Voldemort hissed. In reality, most of his attention was on inspecting his wand, checking for any tampering. Power was crucial at this moment. Of course, he was also curious about why his servant's attitude had suddenly changed.
At first, he thought Snape was sent by Dumbledore or Hep with a hidden agenda, but now he didn't think so.
"I naturally—"
"Don't lie to me!" Voldemort barked. "Do you think I can't see the hatred in your eyes?" He suddenly raised his wand, moving with incredible speed, as if his previous weakness was all an act.
"Cruciatus Curse!"
"Armor Shield!"
The spell grazed Harry's hair, his heart pounding. He hadn't expected Voldemort to attack so suddenly and reacted instinctively. But he was right—his mission was to die, not to lose control and be tortured by Voldemort.
Voldemort looked even angrier, firing spell after spell, but none were killing curses. He still had his wits about him, wanting to capture Snape and force information from his mind.
"You dare to defy me! To defy your sworn master? Why?" he roared.
"I thought you would have figured it out by now—because of Lily Evans." After a moment of tense silence, Harry said, his calm voice filled with hatred. It was as if he had become the real Snape, speaking through his mouth: "You took her life."
"Lies! You said you didn't care about that woman, that you would find someone better—speak the truth!" Voldemort shouted fiercely.
"Think about it, Voldemort. Of course, I would have said that back then. How else could I have continued to infiltrate the Death Eaters? Think about it, Voldemort. Why have you failed so many times? Because I stopped being your man long ago, much earlier than you think—since you began hunting her and her family, I turned to Dumbledore. After Lily's death, my only purpose in life was—"
"To—see—you—die." Harry enunciated each word slowly.
"Ridiculous!" Voldemort yelled, consumed by rage. He could not tolerate being deceived, especially for over a decade, like a fool. But a voice inside him told him that it was all true: Snape had not betrayed him recently; his loyalty had been a facade from the beginning. And he had allowed a traitor to hold a high position, feeding Dumbledore with all sorts of intelligence. He had even considered Snape his greatest achievement. This was a devastating blow to him.
Harry felt Voldemort's fury, and magic gathered at the tip of his wand. He decided to add one more weight to the scales.
"You don't know this yet, do you? Severus Snape's Patronus is a doe, just like Lily Evans's, and it has never changed! Want me to show you? Look, Expecto Patronum—"
A silver creature flickered into existence. Harry did not let it fully materialize; its large antlers remained hidden in the mist.
"You are a fool, Voldemort." He said with disdain.
Harry succeeded. Voldemort was utterly enraged, his eyes filled with murderous intent. Then, a green light flashed. A strong survival instinct screamed in Harry's mind, telling him to move, but he realized he couldn't. His wand only rose an inch before Voldemort struck him.
Harry fell to the ground, lifeless.
The sound of "Avada Kedavra" echoed softly.
At the same time, Voldemort felt a sudden, excruciating pain and collapsed backward...
After an unknown amount of time, Harry heard someone calling his name. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't place it. He felt dazed, floating in a pleasant void, his mind free from all the burdens of life.
He wanted to lie there longer (though he wasn't sure where he was lying), but the voice kept urging him, growing clearer and more insistent. He felt like a drowning man, falling back into the cold reality from a beautiful dream.
Harry opened his eyes and saw a familiar old face close to his. He immediately became alert.
"I—Professor Dumbledore?"
"You were dead to the world, Harry." Dumbledore said cheerfully, "I've been calling you for ages."
"Oh, sorry. How did I get here? Wasn't I dueling Voldemort?" Harry asked.
"Think about it, Harry." Dumbledore encouraged him, his tone the same as when he taught Harry in class.
"I… I don't remember much."
Harry tried to recall, his memory hazy. But as he focused, the memories came flooding back, vivid and clear. He remembered everything, from going to the Chamber to duel Voldemort, to the precise moment he sent himself to his death. He even remembered the first time Aunt Marge visited the Dursleys' house, when his face was swollen from being scratched by her nails, and he was only two years old. Normally, he wouldn't be able to remember such a distant memory.
Normally, he would have been angry, but now he felt a profound sense of peace, with no trace of emotion—just memory.
"Where am I?"
"Where do people go when they die?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"I—I'm dead?"
"Close, but no. You're alive, in a state between life and death." Dumbledore said, blinking. "Harry, I suggest you get dressed. Just think about it."
Harry looked down and realized he was completely naked. Even in this strange state, he felt embarrassed. He followed Dumbledore's advice, and as soon as the thought of clothes crossed his mind, he was dressed.
Harry got up, and as he did, he noticed the mist had cleared. Behind Dumbledore lay a village.
"Is this Godric's Hollow?"
This chapter should end here; I can't finish it today.
(End of Chapter)
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