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Chapter 706: The Chaotic Battlefield
Chapter 706: The Chaotic Battlefield
The ghosts surged forward, incessantly entwining Voldemort, blocking his view and buying Harry time to escape.
However, Harry was far from happy, feeling that he might betray the ghosts' good intentions.
To his right, about seven or eight Death Eaters stood in a semicircle. Choosing to break through from this direction was an incredibly foolish decision, but Harry had no other choice. He could only trust James and Lily’s words and charge forward, head held high.
The Death Eaters surrounding them outside seemed somewhat at a loss. They had witnessed Harry Potter resist the Killing Curse once again and summon a horde of ghosts to entangle the powerful Dark Lord with an unknown spell.
"Stop him!"
Voldemort’s angry voice echoed through the graveyard, snapping the Death Eaters out of their panic.
The few Death Eaters in front of Harry immediately drew their wands. Lucius, standing at the forefront, bared a sinister smile. He raised his wand, muttered a spell, and a crimson beam shot out from the tip, heading straight for Harry.
"Protego!" At the last moment, Harry used Protego again.
Fortunately, this time the spell worked. A magical barrier rose around him, deflecting the red beam. A scream echoed through the crowd, but it was unclear who had been hit.
Harry didn’t have time to look back. A sense of dread crept into his mind as several Dark Wizards beside Lucius raised their wands at him.
Harry’s pupils dilated. Protego’s protection couldn’t withstand so many spells at once.
What made Harry’s scalp tingle even more was the sudden appearance of a grotesque human face on the withered old tree behind the Death Eaters. The eyes, mouth, and nose were deep, hollow cavities, as if eaten away by insects.
A branch as thick as a waist swung toward Harry. He desperately shielded his head, and soon several cries of pain and screams rang in his ears.
To his surprise, the eerie old tree hadn’t attacked him. The thick branch swept past, striking several Death Eaters and sending them flying.
Transfiguration!
Harry immediately understood. A glimmer of hope surged in his heart. He knew the ghosts hadn’t been wrong; someone had indeed come to save him!
The path ahead was clear, and Harry scrambled to run out of there. However, Voldemort’s magic still affected him, making his limbs weak and powerless. The short sprint had already drained his limited strength.
Worse still, more Death Eaters had reacted. They all waved their wands, and two or three dozen spells flashed through the air.
No one dared to imagine how furious the Dark Lord would be if Harry Potter escaped. They were willing to do whatever it took to keep him here!
Faced with the dozens of spells hurtling toward him, Harry had no way to dodge.
At that moment, another voice echoed through the graveyard.
"Fly, tombstone!"
Harry recognized Sirius Black’s voice. Before he could think, the tombstone inscribed with Tom Riddle’s name flew over from a short distance behind him, crashing into his body at an extraordinary speed.
Protego's shield shattered with a resounding crack, protecting him from some of the damage, but Harry still suspected that his bones might have been broken.
Even so, he clung tightly to the edge of the Tombstone, being dragged into the air.
The Death Eaters' spells missed their mark, striking the ground and the Tombstone, sparking with brilliant flashes of light.
An ancient, withered tree was set ablaze by a Fire Spell, the scorching flames burning its broken body. Despite the damage, it remained steadfast, thanks to a Transfiguration Spell, and struggled to uproot itself.
Its sprawling roots, like tentacles and the segmented limbs of a centipede, replaced its legs, granting the Tree Creature the ability to move, though it was supposed to be immobile.
Standing as tall as a three- or four-story building, it was engulfed in flames, resembling a demonic treant from a myth. It swung its massive arms, attacking the Death Eaters to prevent them from pursuing Harry.
On the other side, Harry had crashed to the ground with the Tombstone, rolling awkwardly and groaning in pain.
"Harry, are you alright?" Sirius Black hurried to Harry's side, helping him up with a worried expression.
Harry felt like his entire body was falling apart, but the sight of Sirius Black's concern overcame his pain, so he shook his head resolutely, indicating that he was fine.
"Harry, Sirius Black, you two can catch up later. We need to get moving! Those ghosts and my Tree Creature can't hold them off for long..." Ivan said urgently.
Sirius Black nodded, his anger subsiding a bit upon seeing Harry safe.
But then, his face froze as if he had just realized something. "But where do we go now? The Dark Lord will follow the trail of our magic. We can't bring him to Hogsmeade..."
An enraged Voldemort would likely kill anyone in his path. Although there were many wizards in Hogsmeade who could buy them time, Sirius couldn't bring himself to sacrifice others for their own survival.
Ivan frowned, also at a loss. He knew that Apparition could be tracked.
Back in his second year, Aurors in the Wizards' Market had used a magical item to trace Dawgert's Apparition. Ivan had no doubt that Voldemort could do the same.
This meant that no matter where they fled, they would eventually be caught.
Ivan's mind raced, and the only hope now was to wait for Dumbledore's rescue. Hermione and Ron had already gone to inform him, but even if the old professor knew about their situation, it would take time to pinpoint their exact location.
As these thoughts flashed through Ivan's mind, a fierce roar echoed through the graveyard.
"You fools!"
"It's the Dark Lord!" Sirius Black's face paled, realizing that Voldemort had likely dealt with the ghosts.
Sure enough, a massive explosion rocked the graveyard a second later, and the flame-enshrouded Tree Creature in the center was obliterated by a Dark Magic spell, scattering debris everywhere.
"Harry, Sirius Black, grab my hand! I know where we need to go!" Ivan had an idea and shouted loudly.
(End of Chapter)
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