Chapter 750: Nagini —— Death
Chapter 750: Nagini —— Death (Author's new book is out, please follow and vote!)
“What about the students at the School? I remember classes were still going on yesterday,” Hermione asked Mad-Eye Moody anxiously as they descended two steps, “Where are they now? Have they left the place?”
“All the students are in the castle. We really didn't expect Voldemort to launch the final battle today,” a hint of regret flashed across Mad-Eye Moody's face. “Last night, we discussed with Albus and concluded that Voldemort would confront us at the Ministry of Magic today. At most, a few Death Eaters might come to Hogwarts to harass and hold back the people in the castle.”
“So we thought it might be safer for the students to stay in Hogwarts Castle. However, to ensure nothing major went wrong, we still brought in most of the Guards from Azkaban to protect the castle. That's why we've managed to hold out this long. If it were just the professors, the protective barrier would have been broken five or six minutes ago.”
By this time, they had quickly entered the entrance hall of the Great Hall. Professor Mcgonagall was standing there, directing a few upper-year students to set up defenses in the castle. Hearing the sound of footsteps, she turned around and saw everyone coming down the stairs.
“Liam, Lupin, how did you get in?” Professor Mcgonagall first showed a smile of excitement, which quickly turned to disbelief. “I thought all the secret passages were sealed.”
“There's one passage that almost no one knows about. Its entrance is in the Hog's Head,” Liam explained, “Professor Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, told us about it today.”
“Another usable passage, that's great news,” Mcgonagall sighed in relief, then turned to the two upper-year students standing there. “Seamus, you and Neville, go find Professor Flitwick and bring him to the kitchen to guide the lower-year students to the Room of Requirement on the Eighth Floor. There's a passage leading to the Hog's Head, and I'll send some statues to assist you.”
“Right,” Seamus nodded and took the small pink gemstone Liam handed him. “Just think about the path to the Hog's Head when you open the door. Remember to keep this gemstone with you. The traps won't activate as long as the gemstone is in the room. They will reactivate two minutes after the gemstone leaves the room or when the door is closed by the person holding the gemstone.”
“Understood,” Seamus nodded, took the gemstone, and ran towards the kitchen, while Neville ran out the door to inform Professor Flitwick, who was in the courtyard.
“Alright, follow me to the courtyard,” Professor Mcgonagall said to Liam and the other reinforcements after watching the two of them run off. “We need to buy more time to ensure the first-year students have enough time to evacuate.”
“Understood, Professor Mcgonagall,” Liam and the others responded in unison, then raised their wands and directed their magic towards the protective shield in the sky. With their help, the shield, which had been weakening, stabilized once more.
The next ten minutes were a pure stalemate. The Death Eaters outside commanded the Obsidian Puppets to pound the shield while continuously releasing magic to deplete its power. Liam and the others periodically added more magic to the shield to counteract the loss, maintaining the deadlock.
“My task is complete,” Professor Flitwick said as he emerged from the castle gates with Seamus, Neville, and about eight armors. “The lower-year students have all been sent out. They should be safe now.”
“That's good, that's good,” Professor Mcgonagall visibly relaxed. But at that moment, several beams of intense light shot from a distance, striking the shield. The semi-transparent, frosted glass-like shield immediately developed numerous cracks.
In the tense gaze of everyone present, the cracks spread faster and faster, covering an ever-widening area. Finally, when the cracks covered the entire protective shield, it shattered like a dropped light bulb, turning into a shower of fragments.
"Is Voldemort insane?" As a Wizard of Voldemort's caliber, Liam knew that the spell to shatter Hogwarts Castle's defenses was not something that could be cast easily. He couldn't understand what had driven Voldemort to abandon his sanity and take such a drastic action, incurring a massive cost to achieve this.
But Liam soon understood the reason. As the protective shield shattered, a strange, mournful scream echoed through the air. As someone who understood Parseltongue, Liam recognized that Voldemort's scream was a name: Nagini.
"Is something wrong with Voldemort's snake?" Having been previously educated, Hermione naturally understood Voldemort's roar. She was surprised that the scream, which should have been a key strike in this battle, seemed to indicate that the Horcrux Nagini had encountered some dire situation.
"I'm not entirely sure", Liam shook his head. "But something must have happened. That attack wasn't something simple. He must have lost control because something important happened to Nagini. From his roar, it's clear he's in extreme anger."
Liam's speculation was very close to the truth. Voldemort now stood in a room on the Quidditch Pitch. In front of him was a scene of chaos: Nagini, who should have been safely contained in the protective shield, had been reduced to a black, snake-shaped ash on the ground. A silver short sword, studded with rubies, lay discarded nearby.
Snape, whom Voldemort had assigned to watch over Nagini, had two large puncture wounds on his neck, from which black blood was gushing. His face was pale, and the light of life in his black eyes was rapidly fading. Voldemort could clearly see that Snape was on the verge of death.
A few minutes earlier, when the puppets emerged from the lake, Voldemort decisively abandoned the rear army that had been cut off and accelerated his advance toward Hogwarts Castle. He believed that under Bellatrix's leadership, that part of the army would be able to hold off the enemies from Hogsmeade, preventing Liam and his allies from coming to the school's aid.
When Voldemort arrived at the castle, to ensure the safety of his Horcrux, he had Snape and Nagini stay in a room on the newly occupied Quidditch Pitch to look after her. In Voldemort's eyes, Snape was one of the most reliable Death Eaters. Out of caution, he took Snape's wand. Voldemort believed that without a wand, Snape would be incapable of harming Nagini, who was protected by his shield.
But now he realized he had made a grave mistake. Snape was not as loyal as he had pretended to be, and the rare magical short sword indicated that he had been planning this for a long time. This meant that the great Dark Lord had been deceived by someone using Occlumency, and the cost was his most precious Horcrux.
"At least I have more than one Horcrux", Voldemort took a deep breath and muttered to himself. Then, he looked calmly at the fallen Snape and asked, "Tell me, why did you do this?"
He was genuinely curious because Voldemort believed he had given Snape more than enough knowledge, wealth, status, and trust. He simply couldn't understand why Snape would do this at a time when Voldemort was about to secure his victory.
After all, for a Wizard, losing a wand and attempting to kill a giant viper with a short dagger was a death sentence. Voldemort could deduce that Snape had endured the pain and suffocation while using the dagger to break the magical protection, allowing Nagini to bite his neck, and then delivered the fatal blow. Voldemort couldn't fathom what had driven Snape to such a resolute and self-sacrificing act.
By this time, Snape's condition was dire. Not only was blood flowing from his body, but a silver-blue substance, neither gas nor liquid, was seeping from his mouth, ears, and eyes.
Hearing Voldemort's question, Snape's throat emitted a terrifying, wheezing sound. Then, with his last bit of strength, he raised his head, looked at Voldemort, and uttered a single word.
"Lily..."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
