Lord Voldemort leaned down, using those hands that were trembling slightly from intense pain to stroke the cold scales of the Giant snake.
"Nagini." His voice was kept extremely low, hoarse and carrying an unprecedented solemnity.
"Hide."
"Crawl into that Castle, find the deepest, darkest, and safest place to hide."
For the first time, a look bordering on ferocity appeared on his snake-like face, his scarlet pupils reflecting the Giant snake's cold eyes.
"Crawl into its pipes, beneath its foundations, return to its most ancient secrets!
There lies the scent of your own kind, the scent left behind by Salazar Slytherin!
Go there! Remember, Nagini, you are my final part, and the most important part!"
Hogwarts' sewage system was the nest where that thousand-year-old Basilisk had once been entrenched; complex and ancient, it was enough to become the most perfect hiding place.
"Until the war is over, do not come out. Do not respond to anyone, including me! Go!"
Nagini seemed to understand the life-and-death entrustment behind this command.
Its massive head rubbed against Lord Voldemort's palm, and then its huge body silently slid into the darkness, like a black river merging into the night, swimming toward the edge of the Hogwarts Castle's defensive shield.
It could feel that where the shield met the ground and the Forbidden Forest, there were some forgotten ancient drainage outlets. The defenses in those places were relatively weak, enough for this Giant snake, which inherited the Slytherin bloodline, to squeeze through.
Lord Voldemort straightened up, watching Nagini disappear into the darkness; only then did the feeling of being roasted over a fire in his heart slightly subside.
As long as Nagini lived, he would never truly die; he still had the chance for a comeback.
He raised his wand again, but this time, he did not point it at Hogwarts.
"All forces, retreat! Establish a defensive line at the edge of the Forbidden Forest!"
The command spread across the entire battlefield. The Death Eaters looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion and suspicion, but no one dared to disobey the Master's order.
The Giants stopped smashing the walls, the Death Eaters ceased their futile bombardment of spells, and the Dementors withdrew the despair-inducing chill.
The dense army, like a receding tide, retracted chaotically yet swiftly, regrouping at the edge of the Forbidden Forest to face off against Hogwarts' golden shield across the open grounds.
The war had come to an eerie pause.
Inside the Headmaster's Office.
"They stopped?" Sirius looked out the window, his face full of astonishment. "That madman Tom Riddle actually retreated?"
"Why?" Lupin frowned, completely unable to understand Lord Voldemort's move.
Professor McGonagall's expression grew increasingly solemn: "This is not a good thing. It means he has encountered a trouble greater than a direct assault; he is adjusting his strategy. He is afraid. A Lord Voldemort who is afraid is far more dangerous than a mad Lord Voldemort, because he will become more cunning."
The door was burst open with a "bang."
Harry rushed in, his face as pale as paper, his lips still trembling uncontrollably. Those green eyes held no joy of success, but were instead filled with a kind of shock that was hard to settle after witnessing something miraculous and forbidden.
He gasped for breath, his gaze unfocused as it swept over everyone, finally landing on the empty chair where Hermione had just been sitting.
"Harry?" Sirius stepped forward to support him.
"The diadem..." Harry's voice was intermittent from running. He swallowed hard, struggling to organize his words, "The diadem... Hermione... Lia... it... it was 'eaten'... no, it was..."
He shook his head, seemingly unable to find any words to describe that scene which transcended understanding.
"...Resolved! We succeeded!"
As those words were spoken, Dumbledore also floated out from the wall; he had been following right behind Harry just now.
Snape stood in the shadows of the corner, his pale face expressionless, but a flash of cold mockery flickered deep within those pitch-black eyes.
He spoke softly in a slow, deliberate drawl; the voice wasn't loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"Resolved? Potter, in that impoverished brain of yours, can you only use such naive vocabulary? It seems the great Miss Granger did not teach you how to accurately describe a Sacrifice."
"Snape!" Sirius immediately drew his wand. "You greasy old bat, what are you babbling about!"
"I am merely stating facts, you ignorant stray dog," Snape said without even raising an eyelid, "unlike some stupid hounds who only know how to bark and can't even see the price being paid."
"Enough!" Professor McGonagall sharply shouted to stop the imminent conflict. "Now is not the time for infighting! Severus, Harry has brought back the result we needed most; we have gained precious breathing room! Go and continue to reinforce the outer defenses!"
The Professors immediately took their orders and left.
"Sirius, Lupin, you lead the Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix to hold the Main Bridge; that is the Castle's weakest link!"
"Understood!"
"Snape," Professor McGonagall finally looked at him, "monitor the energy flow of all the Castle's defensive magic. If you find any abnormalities, notify me immediately."
Snape nodded and turned to melt into the deeper darkness, as if he had never appeared.
The entirety of Hogwarts, taking advantage of the brief ceasefire, began to operate with high efficiency and tension once again.
No one noticed that while this tense war council was taking place.
In the Gryffindor Girls Dormitory, on the bed belonging to Hermione Granger.
Lia, whose ankles were "bound" by bright red ribbons, slowly opened those blue eyes that seemed to reflect the sky.
She was not disturbed by any outside noise.
Ignoring the waves of discomfort coming from her body. ① [Author's Note]
She controlled her vision to become blurred, looking at the ceiling.
Through her Eye of Truth, the world was not composed of matter.
Hogwarts was a galaxy of stars, precisely woven from countless gold, silver, and white lines of souls and magic, shining with the radiance of knowledge and protection.
Yet at this moment, at the very bottom of this holy galaxy, an extremely filthy and dense black-red "vessel" was like a drop of thick ink falling into holy water, or like a greedy woodworm, winding and spreading silently along the ancient pipes.
That familiar, nauseating smell of rot, mixed with stale blood and dark hissing, reached her perception directly through the level of the soul.
That smell was exactly the same as the diadem, goblet, and locket she had just "eaten"...
Except, this one was alive.
And it was moving.
"The main course... has delivered itself to the door."
She murmured softly, her voice as light as a sleep-talker's.
And by the pillow, Hermione, who had been tightly holding her wrist and maintaining a light sleep, seemed to be startled by that flash of cold Divinity.
Her thick eyelashes trembled violently, and she suddenly opened her bloodshot eyes.
She didn't hear Lia's whisper; she only saw that Lia had woken up and was calmly gazing at the ceiling, with a depth in those blue eyes that she couldn't understand.
"What are you saying?" Hermione's hands fumbled over Lia's body.
Hearing Hermione's voice, Lia gave a startled shudder.
The calmness and Divinity in her eyes were instantly filled with panic.
Lia turned her head and saw the dangerous look in Hermione's eyes.
Oh no... "Hermione! Wait... wait!"
"Don't talk! One more time!"
[I also want to reward myself with a...]
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