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Chapter 422: The Battle has Begun
🕑 Added 2024-12-20 09:36:52 +0000 UTCDisclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
“Dialogue”
‘Thoughts’
-Author notes-
Chapter 422: The Battle has Begun
Harry tapped his staff on the ground for the third time.
The first two taps had created protections around the audience members, but this one was different.
“What are you doing?” Voldemort demanded, his red eyes narrowing in confusion.
Someone had appeared out of nowhere, destroyed his blood wards, and now seemed to be activating another one on top.
“Are those Hogwarts protections?” Voldemort watched as several layers of powerful spells wove across the sky, enveloping the entire lake area. This protection felt ancient, like the original wards from the castle that were created by the four founders.
“Kind of. Part of them come from the original protections, but I’ve modified them to suit my purpose,” Harry replied calmly.
It felt strange to be having even a brief conversation with this man. He had expected an immediate attack from Voldemort, for now, it appeared like the Dark Lord was more curious than threatened by the new arrival.
Something that was going to change very soon.
“What are you trying to accomplish with this?” Voldemort pressed, his tone tinged with suspicion. “And how are you able to manipulate the castle wards? Are you Dumbledore’s apprentice, by any chance?”
Harry could admit that he had once been Dumbledore’s apprentice, but that was a long time ago, in another life. That is not who he was now...not anymore.
“My name will mean little to you now, but I am Harry Potter.”
“Potter…” Voldemort repeated, his gaze shifting momentarily to the audience stands, where he had noticed the Potters earlier. He vaguely remembers Wormtail mentioning something about them having a son, and this was only because his date of birth was close to fit the prophecy that Snape brought him, but in the end, it was Neville Longbottom the only one born at the end of the seventh month.
Meanwhile, Harry finished the safeguards, and he allowed a sense of relief to wash over him. The most delicate part was now over and none of these creatures would ever leave this place.
“You should have been more wary of me. Not that it would have changed the outcome, but…you allowed me to put the last nail in your coffin. So thanks for that,” Harry said, his voice calm but resolute.
Voldemort’s curiosity gave way to anger at the boy’s insolence.
“I’ll give you this, boy...you’re brave. Most would tremble in fear at the sight of me,” Voldemort sneered, raising his wand to point at Harry.
“But I have something to finish here. Don’t worry...your parents and the rest of your family will soon join you.” He presumed Bellatrix had already dealt with any other remaining Potters at their manor. All they had to do was to kill the ones at the stands and that family will be no more.
Voldemort was willing to accept the servitude of others, but not of those who had opposed him directly by joining Dumbledore's useless order. Those will have to die.
With a lazy flick of his wand, the Dark Lord sent a deadly curse at Harry.
The spark of light glowed with an unsettling purple hue, promising only death.
Harry extended his left hand and caught the curse. It was hard to see if one wasn't up close, but he had created several layers of his protective charm to cover his skin so he wasn't really touching the spell directly.
“What?!” Voldemort’s shock was palpable. He had expected the boy to drop dead instantly and had already begun turning his attention elsewhere when he saw him stop the curse midair.
Harry’s eyes were cold as he glared at his old enemy. “You already destroyed my family once… but that will never again.”
The curse shattered in Harry’s hand, exploding into a million particles of light.
“That's…who the hell are you?!” Voldemort shouted, his composure cracking. He may have thrown it casually, but that curse he just used, was nothing to be taken lightly and no normal defensive charm should have been able to stop it.
He could no longer dismiss the wizard before him just because of his youthful looks. This was someone who had shattered his curse as if it were nothing....an act that must have required magic of an extremely advanced caliber. Meaning that this person was no apprentice but a mature wizard with a mastery of magic that could come close to competing with him.
Before Voldemort could recover, loud cracking noises from behind them broke his focus.
The giants had finished destroying Harry’s colossal golem. They laughed, seemingly unaware of Harry’s presence...or the fact that they were now trapped.
Voldemort’s remaining army, though reduced by heavy losses, had nearly finished off the other golems as well.
“Looks like your minions have defeated my golems,” Harry noted, unfazed.
The golems were only ever meant to be a distraction. If they had failed to hold off Voldemort until his arrival, Enkara would have been forced to intervene.
Harry had no doubt that the Ancient Vampire Lord could have annihilated the entire army single-handedly, but it was fortunate it hadn’t come to that, as it would have alerted Voldemort of the danger he was in and given him the opportunity to escape...something he no longer had.
The golems weren’t lost, either. With a bit more magic from the main Arkstone, they would regenerate in minutes.
‘That can wait,’ Harry thought. ‘I have other uses for those magic reserves.’
The golems had served their purpose. They could rest for now.
Voldemort, meanwhile, was beginning to piece things together.
If this wizard in front of him truly commanded those constructs and wasn’t bluffing, it was terrible news.
‘How did I miss this?’ Voldemort thought bitterly.
He had been cautious, delaying his return for years to ensure every aspect of his plan was perfect. Yet, here was a wizard whose power rivaled, or exceeded his expectations.
Harry turned his back on Voldemort, sensing the Dark Lord’s inner turmoil.
“I’ll be right back,” he said casually.
“Wh—” Voldemort didn’t get to finish his question before Harry disappeared.
Harry reappeared at the farthest edge of the shore, near the boundary of the wards he had created.
Ahead of him, Voldemort’s army loomed. Despite their heavy losses, there were still plenty of vampires, trolls, and skeletons among their ranks.
These were Voldemort’s elite troops. The rest had been sent to Hogsmeade.
"I'll start with you."
Harry raised his metallic staff and struck the ground with a resounding pang.
The gems embedded in its head began to glow, and the earth beneath their feet trembled.
