The thin man stepped out of the cauldron and put on a black robe.
His face was even paler than a skeleton's, his large eyes were blood red, and his nose was flat like a snake's, with two narrow slits for nostrils...
Despite all the calculations and preparations, Eda had ultimately failed to prevent Voldemort's return.
Hidden away, Eda slowly recovered her strength. She wanted to know exactly which part had gone wrong.
According to Dumbledore's arrangements, the Headmaster should have already been standing here and wreaking havoc by now.
So how had things turned into Iron Cauldron Voldemort?
And shouldn't Barty Crouch Jr. have been at the school disguised as Mad-Eye Moody? How had he appeared here, and how had he managed to hit her over the head?
Dumbledore and Eda had already seen through Barty Crouch Jr.'s disguise. They also knew that tonight Barty Crouch Jr. would place the Triwizard Cup inside the maze and replace the Cup with a Portkey.
The reason they had not immediately captured Barty Crouch Jr., and the reason they had allowed the competition to continue and let Eda and Harry touch the Cup at the same time, was to turn the enemy's plan against him.
Without alarming Voldemort as much as possible, they would locate his hiding place and launch a precise, devastating attack.
Inside the maze, Eda and Harry had grabbed the Cup at the same time. As expected, the two of them had been taken away from Hogwarts by the Portkey and had appeared in this cemetery, where they encountered the barely surviving Voldemort.
There had been no problems with the plan up to this point. Everything had been proceeding in an orderly manner, and things had even gone better than Dumbledore had expected.
After all, there was only one person beside Voldemort, Benedict Fowley, with no other helpers.
Next, Eda's task was to keep Voldemort and his followers occupied and buy time for Harry, who was serving as the bait.
That was why Eda had immediately drawn Voldemort and Fowley's attention to herself, leaving them no time to worry about Harry nearby.
They could only deal with the troublesome girl first.
Harry's task was to use this time to set up a magical tracker. This tracker could provide Dumbledore with an accurate location, allowing him to create a Portkey or simply Apparate over.
Precise targeting and a devastating strike. That was the purpose of this plan. Everything at Hogwarts, and everything inside the maze, had been meant to conceal this objective.
The plan had been good, but ultimately, it had failed to keep up with the changes.
Something had gone wrong with Eda, who was responsible for holding Voldemort back. She had been ambushed by Barty Crouch Jr., who had suddenly appeared in the cemetery.
And now Dumbledore had not appeared according to plan, which meant that the person responsible for setting up the tracker had probably run into trouble as well.
Moreover, according to the plan, Barty Crouch Jr. should never have appeared in the cemetery. After Eda and Harry were taken away by the Portkey, Dumbledore was supposed to restrain him first, preventing him from having any chance to send a warning.
Hidden behind the gravestone, Eda felt somewhat frustrated. If she had been a little more careful, if she had been a little more cautious, perhaps she could have prevented Voldemort's resurrection.
Even if she had merely managed to hold Barty Crouch Jr. back when he suddenly appeared, there would still have been a chance to turn everything around, because Fowley alone could never have captured Harry.
Putting her frustration aside, now was not the time to dwell on it. Her companion was still tied to a gravestone! Eda cleared her mind and began calculating a way for both of them to escape unharmed.
At the other end of the cemetery, Voldemort, who had regained a body, was thoroughly enjoying his new form. He rewarded his two most loyal servants.
Voldemort gave Barty Crouch Jr. a silver hand, a hand filled with magic. He gave Fowley a complete Dark Mark instead of an ordinary, unfinished brand.
The newly reborn Dark Lord looked toward Harry, who was tied to the gravestone, and began recounting his family history, his pure-blooded mother, and the Muggle father who had brought shame upon him.
Tom Riddle and Barty Crouch Jr. truly were master and servant. Both of them had personally killed their fathers. Tom Riddle had gone a step further. He had even dug up his father's grave and taken out the bones to make soup.
In this regard, Barty Crouch Jr. still had a lot to learn from his master.
Suddenly, the air filled with the rustling of robes. One Death Eater after another Apparated around the cemetery. They were all hooded and masked.
The Death Eaters cautiously approached Voldemort one by one, knelt before him, crawled to his feet, and kissed the hem of his black robes.
"Welcome, Death Eaters," Voldemort said calmly. "Thirteen years... It has been thirteen years since our last gathering. Yet you still answered my summons as though it were yesterday... Which means we are still united beneath the Dark Mark! Are we not?"
Voldemort delivered his speech about his rebirth, blaming the Death Eaters for abandoning him and for never trying to find him during all these years.
The Death Eaters standing in a circle trembled with fear. They feared Voldemort's power more than anyone else. Fear was the weapon Voldemort used to maintain his rule.
After punishing several Death Eaters in succession with the Cruciatus Curse, Voldemort finally calmed down. He "nobly" forgave the Death Eaters for their crimes because he still needed their loyalty.
Voldemort walked to the largest gap in the circle and stared at it with his hollow red eyes, as though someone were standing there.
"Five Death Eaters are missing here... Three died for me, one was too cowardly to return... He will pay the price. The other, I believe, has left me forever... He will certainly be put to death... He betrayed my trust."
Avery, Malfoy, Macnair, Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott. Except for Snape and Karkaroff, all the Death Eaters who had escaped judgment were gathered here.
Voldemort continued, "Barty, Barty Crouch, good boy, you will receive the greatest honor of your life, the trust of Lord Voldemort. It is because of your efforts and intelligence that we can gather here again tonight."
As he spoke, Voldemort walked over to Barty Crouch Jr. and helped the kneeling Barty to his feet.
Then Voldemort walked over to Fowley and said, "Benedict, you are a good boy too. Although you are a little foolish, your Lord mercifully accepts you."
Voldemort did not help Fowley up. Instead, he suddenly turned around and looked at Harry, who was tied to the gravestone. He said smugly, "I almost forgot about our guest, the famous Harry Potter, the special guest at my resurrection party."
Amid the silence of the Death Eaters, Voldemort recounted the entanglement between himself and Harry Potter. He spoke of the ancient protective magic that existed within Harry and told them about his circumstances in the Albanian forests all these years.
Less than a year ago, when Voldemort had almost given up hope, hope finally appeared... Fowley found him.
Using his family's connections, Fowley met his father in Azkaban and obtained a potion from him, a potion that could allow Fowley to fake his death and escape.
It sounded like a joke, but Fowley really did leave Azkaban Castle by faking his death. Dementors had never been loyal or reliable partners.
The Fowley family had woven a network of connections within the Ministry of Magic, and there were people who would help them conceal the truth. Moreover, quite a few people did not think Benedict Fowley had done anything wrong at all, nor did they think he was an irredeemable Death Eater.
Voldemort said, "Benedict not only found me and helped me recover part of my strength, he also brought me an excellent gift, Bertha Jorkins. I obtained a great deal of information from that woman. I learned about the Triwizard Tournament, as well as the news that Barty was still alive."
"No one can stop my return. Sooner or later, I will obtain a new body. But that would take far too long, and I could not wait to continue the work we had left unfinished." Voldemort continued his monologue. "So, once I had grown a little stronger and had enough strength to travel, I rescued my servant and began my new resurrection plan."
Voldemort had already abandoned the Philosopher's Stone. He knew Dumbledore would definitely destroy it, so he came up with another way to give himself a new body.
This method required three powerful ingredients: the bone of the father, the flesh of the servant, and the blood of the enemy.
Having learned from his mistakes, Voldemort decided to use Harry's blood to help him regain a new life, so that he could personally kill Harry Potter.
This plan required taking Harry away from under Dumbledore's nose, so Barty Crouch Jr. disguised himself as Mad-Eye Moody and infiltrated Hogwarts.
It was Barty Crouch Jr. who put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire. It was Barty who helped Harry overcome every obstacle along the way, ensuring that Harry would be the first to touch the Triwizard Cup.
"Because the sacrifice of his foolish Muggle mother caused my curse to rebound, and combined with the ancient magic Dumbledore cast, as long as he continued to be cared for by his relatives, this protection would continue, and even I could not touch him..."
Voldemort slowly walked forward until he stood in front of Harry. He continued, "But it doesn't matter. Now I can touch him however I please!"
Laughing wildly, he placed his finger against the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead. The Death Eaters also laughed wildly along with their master.
Voldemort stopped laughing, and the Death Eaters stopped as well, except Crabbe and Goyle, who were stupid enough to be a moment too slow.
Having regained a living body had made Voldemort somewhat carried away, causing him to overlook many details. It was only when he personally touched Harry that Voldemort realized he had been deceived.
The great Lord Voldemort had been deceived. He had been tricked by that old bastard Dumbledore!
The resurrection plan had dragged on for so long precisely to obtain Harry Potter's blood. Tonight, he had finally gotten what he wanted. He had obtained Harry Potter's blood and regained the body he had dreamed of.
Yet at this very moment, Voldemort discovered that the Harry he had obtained was fake! Until Harry reached adulthood, he still could not personally kill Harry Potter!
Voldemort showed no sign of panic or rage. He maintained his composure, even though he was cursing Dumbledore's entire family in his heart.
Tonight was the first day of his return to power, and these Death Eaters were still watching him. He could not show the slightest hint of panic.
Even if someone knocked his teeth out, he could only swallow them along with the blood.
Voldemort was burning with rage. Now, he could only hastily bring this feast that belonged solely to him to an end. He raised his wand and pointed it at the powerless fake Harry.
"Avada Kedavra!"
...
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