Theodore Nott was running.
He didn't want to stop.
When he saw a Gryffindor student collapse in front of him, reaching out a hand toward him as if begging for help, the sight made Theodore's heart twitch violently.
"He's a Gryffindor, and I hate Gryffindor the most."
He tried to force himself to calm down, gripping his wand tightly.
The next second, a vampiric harpy swooped down.
Blood sprayed from its beak, and a torn fragment of a school robe fell to the ground.
Theodore's mind went blank. Those things really did kill people.
Under the Gryffindor student's despairing gaze, he turned around and ran.
He ran and ran and ran.
He wanted to escape this place that was like a hellish slaughterhouse, but dark creatures were everywhere.
Screams and banshee shrieks invaded his ears without mercy.
He felt like he was about to go mad.
He fled in blind panic.
"What's wrong, Nott?"
A voice made Theodore's heart skip a beat. He looked up to see the old man who no longer served as headmaster gazing at him kindly.
D-Dumbledore.
Theodore wanted to run, but a voice inside him urged him to step forward.
He walked toward him step by step. For Hogwarts students, Dumbledore always had enough patience.
"Professor Dumbledore," Theodore said as he approached.
Dumbledore was clearing out enemies who had entered the castle. He drew his wand and swung it, and the Gryffindor student who had just been knocked down was rescued.
That made Theodore panic. He realized that what he had done earlier must have been seen.
Another enemy who was about to raise his wand was blasted away.
Dumbledore's invincible figure unfolded before Theodore's eyes.
"Kill him."
A hissing whisper sounded in his ear. Theodore stared blankly at the Dumbledore before him, tightening his grip on his wand.
"Dumbledore, look out!" Harry ran over. Seeing Theodore raise his wand, he shouted immediately.
"Expelliarmus!"
A flash of red light shot out, and the wand in Dumbledore's hand flew away.
Theodore gasped for breath. That single spell seemed to drain all his strength, his chest heaving violently.
Seeing this, Harry flared with rage. "So it really was you!"
He drew his wand and aimed it at Theodore. Theodore shouted in terror, "Don't move!"
His wand was pointed at Dumbledore, leaving Harry helpless.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I had no choice." Theodore felt his vision blur. He rubbed his eyes, one of them turning red.
"You don't need to apologize to me, Nott," Dumbledore said, looking at him calmly.
"I had no choice. My father… even though we don't get along, I don't want him to be unable to come out for the rest of his life." Theodore was torn inside, his voice choking with emotion.
"Wait, Harry." Dumbledore stopped Harry from rushing forward. Looking at Theodore, he said gently, "This sort of thing doesn't suit you, Nott. You're not someone who kills."
"I am!" Theodore suddenly broke down, roaring, "I was the one who poisoned the wine, and I was the one who let them into Hogwarts!"
"I did it all!"
"Why is that, Theodore? I don't think you would kill me. Killing isn't as simple as most people imagine."
Dumbledore said softly, "I'm actually curious how you managed to bring them in. Consider it satisfying the curiosity of someone who currently has no wand."
Theodore's nerves were stretched to the limit. Those words opened a vent for him, giving him a way to release the pressure.
"The Vanishing Cabinet," Theodore roared with tears coming out of his eyes. "There's a Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement."
"But as far as I know, the Vanishing Cabinet needs two connected pieces."
"Yes, that's right. The other one is in Johnny Silverhand's specialty shop. That attack back then was for this thing."
As Theodore spoke, he saw a look of approval on Dumbledore's face.
"Theodore, perhaps you're better suited to becoming an alchemist. Repairing that thing was no simple task."
At a moment like this, Dumbledore was still concerned about Theodore's talent.
"Shut up!" Theodore nervously pointed his wand at Harry and shouted, "What are you trying to do?"
Harry had just attempted a sneak attack on Theodore and had been seen through.
Right now, Theodore was like an overinflated balloon that could burst at the slightest disturbance.
With just a few words, he could kill the greatest wizard alive.
But his hands were trembling. When it came to killing someone, he simply couldn't do it.
He grabbed his right hand with his left and said through tears, "I'm going to kill you, Dumbledore. Then no one will be able to stop the Dark Lord."
"Yes, no one will," Dumbledore said calmly. "Is that why you framed John, the King of Slytherin?"
"I didn't want to either, but he refused," Nott said in pain as he mentioned his king. "He refused to let my father go."
"Your father deserved it!" Harry shouted. "He almost killed us at the Ministry of Magic!"
"You don't understand! He's the only family I have left!" Theodore broke down. "If even he is gone, what do I have left?"
"Friends. You still have friends in Slytherin," Dumbledore said. "Have you forgotten? Your friends."
In Theodore's mind, the faces of his Slytherin friends appeared one by one. He wasn't someone who was good at socializing, but he truly regarded himself as part of Slytherin.
"It's useless, Dumbledore. It's too late."
Theodore raised his wand. "It's too late. He's already here. I can feel it."
"No, stop!" Harry raised his wand at the same time.
Theodore's lips trembled, yet he still couldn't cast the spell.
At that moment, something wriggled out from his sleeve. As if performing a conjuring trick, Dumbledore produced a wand in his hand.
A green little snake shot out from Theodore's sleeve. Just as it was about to reach Dumbledore, Dumbledore flicked his wand.
Theodore was blasted away, while the green snake grew with the wind, transforming into a massive serpent that lunged forward, ready to bite Dumbledore to death.
Dumbledore turned his wand, and a silver-white light collided with the giant serpent.
The serpent's body bent into a U-shape, frozen in midair, its gaping mouth still persistently snapping toward Dumbledore's hand.
From its wide-open jaws, a stream of black liquid splashed out, transforming into small snakes that bit into Dumbledore's hand.
"Harry, get down." Pain flashed through Dumbledore's hand. He immediately tore off the small snakes and crushed them underfoot, saying in a deep voice.
Harry dropped to the ground. Behind him, rows of classroom desks and chairs flew through the air, slamming into the green serpent and pinning it brutally in place as it was hurled against the wall.
"What was that, Dumbledore?" Harry climbed up and ran to Theodore, kicking his wand away.
Dumbledore carried two wands: one was his old wand, the other was the crystal wand Harry had given him.
Dumbledore carried both wands; the one knocked away just now had been the old wand.
Watching the giant serpent being crushed tighter and tighter by the mass of chairs, Harry felt uneasy.
"I think I've seen it before," Harry said hesitantly. "In my dream, during the attack on Mr. Weasley."
"Yes, you should have seen it," Dumbledore said as he flicked his wand, opening the surrounding classrooms so that more than a dozen old desks and chairs flew over. "It is very closely connected to you."
"I once thought that someone like him would have hidden many things during his school years, secrets like Horcruxes."
"And for example, this—an unregistered Animagus."
Dumbledore's words fell.
The desks and chairs were shattered by a streak of white light.
Then, under Harry's horrified gaze, the giant serpent's body gradually transformed into a human shape.
Black robes. Narrow, slitted eyes.
"Neaheheh~ hello Harry, you look like you've seen your death coming.... Too bad, you are right~"
Voldemort stood there, holding a wand also inlaid with the Philosopher's Stone, letting out a cold, piercing laugh.
"And my dear Professor~ Dumbledore, tsk tsk, you've grown old."
Seeing his scheme succeed, Voldemort flicked his wand. Desks and chairs rose into the air, the wood on their surfaces rapidly peeling away, transforming into hundreds of sharp wooden spikes suspended midair.
The spikes shot forward. Dumbledore swung his wand, and a white light formed an impenetrable barrier in front of him.
Voldemort struck again. Cracks appeared in the wall, which was then torn loose as a whole.
Dumbledore cast silently. Two blocks of stone rose from the ground, wedging the wall in place.
With a thunderous crash, the wall slammed into the stones and could not move any further.
Dumbledore flicked his wand again, and the floor turned into a long carpet, leaving no footing to stand on.
Voldemort rose into the air like a Dementor, evading the carpet.
"You can't stop me, Dumbledore."
Voldemort flew out of the castle, his cold voice echoing through its walls.
"Are you all right, Harry?"
Dumbledore looked outside. Tens of thousands of Inferi were surging toward the castle, densely surrounding it.
The brief clash had been full of danger. Harry said urgently, "Dumbledore, we need reinforcements."
Dumbledore nodded, grabbed Harry by the arm, and led him upward.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Theodore also noticed the army of Inferi outside. Panic-stricken, he grabbed his wand and ran downstairs.
As soon as he reached the lower floor, he ran into Pansy.
Pansy threw herself into Theodore's arms.
"Pansy? What are you doing here?" Theodore almost lost his balance from the impact.
"I was worried about you." Pansy grabbed Theodore's hand and said, "Come on, let's go and join everyone else."
"I can't go, Pansy."
"Why? It's safer over there."
Pansy didn't understand.
Smack!
At that moment, Theodore was knocked to the ground. His wand slipped away and was pinned under a foot.
"Goyle, Crabbe, let him go!"
Pansy kept hitting the two big boys.
Malfoy picked up the wand and said with a cold laugh, "Because you betrayed us, didn't you?"
Theodore opened his mouth, but in the end he lowered his head in defeat.
Pansy looked at him in disbelief. Her boyfriend had actually betrayed them.
"Pansy, you and Goyle and Crabbe take him to the dungeons."
Malfoy looked at the scene outside and said resentfully, "We're about to be dragged into a hard battle."
…
Inferi were emerging from the Black Lake and appearing around the castle from all directions.
Even with teachers and students fighting together, they could not stop their advance.
The cries of banshees continued to disrupt Hogwarts, while giants swung massive clubs and smashed everything in sight.
"We can't hold on much longer!" Ron and the others said, their faces pale after exhausting all the products from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
Inferi climbed up the castle walls. The horrifying sight made people tremble with fear.
At that moment, flames ignited. Woosh!
On the towers of Hogwarts Castle, Dumbledore raised his wand.
The flames transformed into a phoenix, dragging a scarlet tail behind it. Wherever it passed, the Inferi were burned to ashes.
"It's Dumbledore!"
The sight instantly boosted Hogwarts' morale.
But outside, the group of dark wizards still watched with predatory intent.
Voldemort descended from the sky and landed at the front of the wizards, his narrow crimson eyes fixed on the castle.
~~~
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