Voldemort had created vast numbers of Inferi, even turning giants into Inferi.
Those creatures feared only light and fire.
Dumbledore's flames could force the Inferi back for a short time, but in the face of sheer numbers, even Dumbledore had to be tied down.
Thousands upon thousands of Inferi filled the battlefield, and the wizards could not advance for the moment.
They had attacked Hogsmeade in advance, cutting off Hogwarts' hope of calling for help or retreating. There was no need to fear Aurors arriving as reinforcements.
To prevent anyone from going out to seek help, a group of wizards guarded the exits of Hogwarts.
"What a boring assignment," a dark-skinned wizard said.
They followed Voldemort out of submission to power, and also out of submission to the beasts within their hearts.
They craved death, craved slaughter, craved the act of ripping life away from others.
Yet after arriving here, they had been assigned to guard the gates.
Among them were pure-bloods, as well as brutal criminals.
Vroom~!
The sound of a car engine, something that did not belong to the magical world, broke the silence at the gate.
They saw a vehicle driving along the muddy road.
A man stepped out of the car, and a grey owl flapped its wings and landed on the roof.
"Excuse me, have you seen my son?"
Eh..? The question left the wizards present momentarily stunned.
"A Muggle?" the dark-skinned wizard reacted, his grin turning savage. "I don't know how you made it here, but you'll give us some extra fun."
He drew his wand, already thinking about how to torture this lost lamb.
Watson Wick raised his head. Above the castle, flames burned unceasingly, illuminating the countless corpses falling from the sky.
His heart felt heavy. Had something really happened to his son?
He glanced at the wizard who was about to cast a spell on him, took a deep breath, and said calmly, "Kill them."
Watson raised his hand and gave the order coldly.
The wizard looked at him in amusement and was about to sneer—Bang!
A sound rang out in the darkness, and the wizard's laughter came to an abrupt halt.
The remaining wizards turned toward the night.
One gun barrel after another was aimed at them.
Watson's expression was indifferent as he said flatly, "Open fire."
Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta!!!!
Bullets poured out. Some wizards activated Shield Charms to block them.
Someone leapt out of the forest, muscles bulging in his arms as he hurled a spear. It pierced through the Shield Charm and nailed a wizard to the ground.
Watson picked up a bullet that had fallen on the ground and toyed with it between his fingers.
"Let's go. My son is still inside."
Watson moved forward.
…
At the top of the castle, Dumbledore wielded flames to scorch the Inferi.
One by one, the Inferi clinging to the walls fell.
Hogwarts' crisis was resolved.
Harry was ecstatic. Hogwarts would surely make it through this crisis.
But just as he felt victory was within reach, Dumbledore's expression suddenly turned grim.
His body swayed, and he almost collapsed. Harry hurried forward to support him.
"What's wrong, Dumbledore?"
Harry saw that Dumbledore's lips had lost all color. He lowered his gaze and only then noticed a faint bite mark on Dumbledore's right hand.
"He hid the poison in his teeth," Dumbledore said with a wry smile. "It seems I really am getting old."
In their earlier confrontation, Dumbledore had reacted a moment too slowly, allowing the green serpent to touch him.
However, Voldemort did not know his true condition, which was why he had chosen to withdraw.
"Harry, just keep supporting me like this. Don't let me fall. Don't let them notice," Dumbledore whispered.
He could not allow Voldemort to realize that something had gone wrong.
Once Voldemort confirmed that Dumbledore could no longer hold on, he would launch an all-out assault without mercy.
For now, Voldemort was holding back solely because he feared Dumbledore and because of the caution born from having been deceived before.
Forcing himself onward, they headed toward the Headmaster's Office.
As soon as they entered, Harry began rummaging through the potion cabinet in the office.
Since Slughorn had become Headmaster, many potions had been stored there.
Harry searched in a frenzy, handing various potions to Dumbledore.
But none of them could counter the poison afflicting him.
"Yes, that potion."
A spark of realization flashed through Harry's mind. "The emerald one."
But Slughorn had already used it up.
Just as Harry was at his wit's end, a beautiful song drifted through the air.
Joy lit up Harry's face. How could he have forgotten? There was still the phoenix.
Fawkes flew into the Headmaster's Office and landed beside Dumbledore's right hand.
His right hand had turned black, like charred wood, its vitality being steadily stripped away.
This was a curse, and also a poison.
Like the kind of poison John had suffered from the previous year—something even alchemists could not cure.
Fawkes drew closer, and a crystal-clear tear fell onto Dumbledore's palm.
White smoke rose from the two tiny wounds. Color returned to Dumbledore's face, but that did not mean the poison was gone—it had only been delayed.
"This is an extremely powerful curse and poison," Dumbledore said. "Even phoenix tears cannot completely heal it."
He moved his fingers, which were still stiff.
The poison could not be cured.
And the situation outside was already urgent.
"We can go find Malfoy!" Harry suddenly thought of something and said. "Malfoy must have the 'universal potion.'"
It was a solid idea. John had never treated his own people poorly.
The moment the thought came to him, Harry acted on it.
After Harry left the Headmaster's Office, Dumbledore looked to the side.
Snape stepped out from the shadows.
"Voldemort no longer trusts anyone," Dumbledore said.
Since Voldemort no longer trusted anyone, Snape's role as a double agent had lost its meaning.
"Even if you obtain the Emerald Potion, it won't be able to save you from this poison."
But Snape frowned and said, "There is only one way."
This was a poison-cursed substance that could even kill John, and the only solution was to drink the liquid from the Holy Grail.
If he did so, Dumbledore would no longer be able to preserve his original heart.
Once a person attained immortality, they would inevitably crave more.
"Are you testing me as well, Severus?" Dumbledore shook his head. "You've changed."
Snape remained silent. No one knew that his resolve had begun to waver.
Perhaps it was because Voldemort had never contacted him again after the incident at the Ministry of Magic; Snape knew he was losing his usefulness.
Whether to Voldemort or to Dumbledore.
Or perhaps it was because the Voldemort he had once regarded as terrifying had been defeated by his own student.
That student who sought to challenge the laws of the magical world had appeared.
It caused the feelings he had buried deep in his heart not to fade with time, but instead to grow even stronger.
He had always understood that it was a regret, an irreparable regret.
Yet after fifteen years of that regret taking root in his heart, the appearance of one person was beginning to shatter the iron laws of the magical world.
Snape knew that he was wavering.
And because of that, he found it even harder to face himself.
…
Malfoy kicked an Inferius to the ground, and a serpent shot from his wand, coiling around a banshee's neck.
The Iron Armor Charm on his body flared as he turned his head and saw a vampiric harpy diving toward him, knocking it down with a Stunning Spell.
"There are really a lot of them."
He had barely finished speaking when he heard Blaise's panicked voice.
Looking up, he saw that Blaise's protective charm had already shattered.
The professors in the Entrance Hall were struggling to hold on. Sirius seized the opportunity and threw a Super Lumos into the sky, where it continued to radiate brilliant light, forcing the Inferi to retreat temporarily.
A banshee swooped down and pinned itself onto him, its sharp teeth snapping toward his throat.
Sirius's body instantly transformed into a black dog, biting the banshee's neck in return and dragging it away before hurling it into the Inferi.
Lupin raised his wand and cast an Impediment Jinx, snapping the ankle of a charging giant. He twisted aside to dodge a vampiric harpy, then unleashed a Confringo-like barrage, summoning shards of stone to smash toward the wizards.
"There are too many of them—the Inferi just keep coming!"
Pulling Tonks into his arms to dodge an incoming curse, Lupin shouted to Sirius, "We have to find a way to deal with those Inferi!"
"I'm thinking, Moony!"
Sirius shifted back into human form, blocking a curse and firing back a Fiendfyre spell that ignited an Inferius, then kicked it straight into the crowd of undead.
Suddenly, something tightened around his leg.
He was yanked violently to the ground, and his wand rolled away.
He hurriedly adjusted his body, scrambling backward with both hands and feet.
"Lumos Maxima."
Lupin threw a sphere of light to relieve Sirius.
Using the brightness, Sirius picked up his wand, about to deal with the Inferius that had grabbed him.
But when he looked up, a familiar face appeared before him.
Sirius froze, staring at the figure in disbelief. The wand in his hand suddenly felt as heavy as lead, impossible to lift.
"Regulus."
It was a young face. Even after soaking in the water for so many years, Sirius could never forget it.
His younger brother.
Had he become an Inferius?
Grief and fury surged through Sirius as he roared, "Why did you join the Death Eaters?!"
Why did it end up like this, my brother?
Weren't you the pride of the family?
Didn't you do exactly what they told you to do?
Why—why had he become an Inferius that could never see the sunlight again?
Sirius had once mocked his foolish younger brother in front of his godson.
He thought he felt nothing for his family.
But now, his heart was aching.
The wand in his hand refused to strike.
The sphere of light in the sky was dimming, and Sirius finally made up his mind.
Rather than letting you sink forever in the depths of the water, it's better to set you free.
"Incendio."
Flames ignited Regulus's body, and the hand gripping him finally loosened.
In that instant, Sirius seemed to see his long-dead brother smiling faintly at him.
As Regulus came into contact with other Inferi, the fire spread from his body to the rest.
A quiet melancholy filled Sirius's heart as he looked at Regulus burning in the flames and whispered, "Good night, Regulus. May you have a good dream."
Leave this absurd nightmare behind, little brother.
Moisture gathered at the corners of his eyes, and as he turned away, Sirius threw himself back into the battle.
~~~
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