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Chapter 703: Duel Before the Graveyard!
Chapter 703: Duel Before the Graveyard!
"Harry once mentioned the dreams in his letters, so the Dark Lord was well aware that Harry could gather information through the snake's eyes..." Sirius Black said with a deep sense of frustration. This information was turned against them, as Voldemort used it to pass false intelligence, successfully luring Dumbledore away today.
Ivan felt a chill run down his spine. If this was true, then every move they made at Hogwarts was known to Voldemort.
What made Ivan even more uneasy was that the root of Harry's ability to possess Nagini was that he was a Horcrux. He wondered if Voldemort had realized this yet.
"Wait, Sirius Black, you mentioned earlier that Voldemort was using the Imperius Curse on you. How did you break free from it?" Ivan suddenly remembered and asked curiously.
"Thanks to you killing Barty Crouch Jr.... The Dark Lord had no spare hands, and he was worried about me losing control again. He had no choice but to take a risk and have Peter use Polyjuice Potion to impersonate me, to go to Hogwarts and take Harry away!" Sirius Black said, breathing heavily.
After Peter left, only the house-elf Winky, the immobile Voldemort, and the serpent Nagini remained in the Riddle House.
"The Dark Lord feared Harry might see the inside of the house through Nagini, so he ordered Winky to guard me. Then... Kreacher sneaked in."
At this point, Sirius Black's voice became hoarse. "He disobeyed the orders I had given him before, left home, and used magic to incapacitate Winky to save me..."
"Kreacher?" Ivan looked at Sirius Black in surprise. He remembered that during the summer, Kreacher had been quite critical of Sirius Black, often referring to him as the Disgraced Heir.
He never imagined that this house-elf would risk so much, defying orders to infiltrate Voldemort's hideout and rescue Sirius Black.
It seemed that after they retrieved Regulus' body from the bottom of the lake, Kreacher had fully accepted Sirius Black as his new master.
"By the way, where is Kreacher? Didn't it come with you?" Ivan couldn't help but ask, puzzled.
Sirius Black's face was contorted with pain and anguish. After a long pause, he continued, his voice trembling.
"It's dead! I... I killed it!"
"What?"
Ivan stared at Sirius Black in shock, almost thinking he was joking. But he quickly realized the grim possibility, a chill running through him. "Was it the Dark Lord's Imperius Curse?"
"Yes! The Imperius Curse!" Sirius Black said through gritted teeth.
"Kreacher managed to save me from the Riddle House, but it couldn't break the Imperius Curse on me. The Dark Lord was still using it to control me, forcing me to return to him immediately..."
"Kreacher... Kreacher grabbed my leg, trying desperately to stop me from going back. Then... then I used the Cruciatus Curse on it..." Sirius Black's voice shook uncontrollably as he recalled the scene, his heart aching.
Voldemort hadn't completely taken control of him, so Sirius Black knew Kreacher was trying to save him. But he couldn't control his actions; it was as if his body was being controlled by someone else, using the most cruel magic to torment the loyal house-elf.
Kreacher’s anguished wails still echoed in his ears…
What pained Sirius Black the most was that Kreacher had a chance to resist him, but even under torture, he was unwilling to harm himself…
This torment ultimately forced Sirius to break free from Voldemort’s Imperius Curse, but by the time he did, Kreacher was already silent.
For when Voldemort sensed his resistance, he issued one final command—kill the House-Elf in front of him!
“Kreacher saved me, and I killed him…” Sirius Black’s face was twisted in a frightening grimace. He muttered to himself as if in a state of hysteria, his fists clenching tighter and tighter, sharp nails digging deep into his flesh, yet he felt no pain…
Sirius could no longer recall how he buried Kreacher. His mind was a blank slate, and if it weren’t for Harry’s safety, he might have lain in the grave he dug himself.
Ivan, who had been listening the entire time, was left speechless by the complexity of the situation.
Kreacher was dead? And Sirius Black had killed him…
Looking at the nearly broken Sirius Black, Ivan opened his mouth, intending to offer some words of comfort.
After all, it wasn’t Sirius Black’s fault; the true murderer was Voldemort!
But Sirius Black cut Ivan off before he could speak.
“I’ll avenge him soon! Very soon!”
Sirius Black spoke coldly, his eyes burning with hatred. A faint light was beginning to shine from the end of the tunnel—they were about to reach Hogsmeade!
“Get ready, we’re leaving now!” As they stepped out of the tunnel, Sirius Black gripped Ivan’s wrist tightly, his voice hoarse.
Ivan nodded and felt himself being pulled into a vortex. Sirius Black’s voice echoed in his ear.
“Apparate! (Apparition)”
…
Outside the Riddle House, in a particularly desolate graveyard, Harry, with no place to retreat, was forced to duel the resurrected Voldemort under the watchful eyes of the Death Eaters.
Or rather, it was a one-sided torment…
“Come now, bow to me, Harry!” Voldemort inclined his head slightly, his tone mocking. “At least the etiquette of a duel should be observed… Dumbledore would surely want you to face death with dignity… Bow to death…”
The gathered Death Eaters erupted in laughter, looking at Harry as if he were a pig waiting to be slaughtered. They knew the Dark Lord wouldn’t kill the boy so easily; he would die after enduring immense torture and humiliation!
Harry pressed his lips together, refusing to move. He knew his chances of survival were slim, but he would not allow Voldemort to take pleasure in his suffering before killing him.
“I said, bow!” Voldemort’s voice grew harsher, his cruel red eyes glaring at Harry impatiently.
He raised his wand, and without uttering a spell, Harry felt something heavy press down on his spine, forcing him into a perfect bow.
“Very good!” Voldemort released Harry from his control, a snake-like smile spreading across his face. “Now let’s begin our duel properly!”
Harry’s hand trembled as he gripped his wand. He didn’t understand why Voldemort didn’t just kill him outright but instead insisted on a duel. Still, he mustered the courage to ask.
“I will duel you, but you must tell me where Sirius Black is…”
(End of Chapter)
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