Chapter 675

Felix examined the arcane pattern on his wrist, it looked slightly hideous and was seeping a little into his skin. Felix felt a tingling sensation as if the charm in question is poking out a thin needle and piercing into his flesh and skin.

Dumbledore’s face turned pale, the process of transferring the charm was not as easy as he made it out to be, especially in his current weakened state.

Felix couldn’t quite remember the last time he had cast a spell.

“Dumbledore!”

An old wizard with short shaggy fringes appeared in the portrait frame of the Headmaster’s office.

“How’s it going?” Dumbledore asked, bracing his head.

“Two things.” The old wizard panted, “The International Confederation of Wizards caused an accident on their way out, a student recognized Grindelwald by the inconspicuous pattern on his clothes, and they scuffled – luckily McGonagall and Babajide Akingbade showed up just in time. The problem is now resolved and Grindelwald has been taken away.”

“Gellert didn’t wake up halfway through, did he?”

“No – he was unconscious the whole time.”

Dumbledore nodded slightly.

“Babajide Akingbade? The new Supreme Mugwump?” Felix interjected, all the while trying to distract himself from the fact that he wanted to burn the pattern on his wrist with a fire. He turned to Dumbledore and said.

“Didn’t you ask me to keep an eye on Grindelwald in the near future? I kept an eye out around the school in the meantime – in case any of the Acolytes were thinking about coming here – but didn’t see the name on the Marauder’s map.”

Dumbledore mused, “Babajide didn’t mention in his letter that he would be coming over … It would have been a spur-of-the-moment decision.”

“That’s the second thing,” the old wizard said from his portrait frame, “he’s heading this way with McGonagall, both of them will be here soon.”

“Let me deal with him, Dumbledore. Using your idea.” Felix said leaping to his feet, he naturally meant disguising himself as Dumbledore to send Babajide away.

“No, Felix, you stay here.” Dumbledore said in a faint but clear voice, as he looked over at the portrait of the Headmaster waiting silently on the wall, “One more trip for you to make, Everard. Tell Minerva to take Babajide somewhere to rest until tomorrow.”

The white-faced old wizard in the frame responded and disappeared.

In the face of a quizzical look, Dumbledore said as briefly as he could, “To avoid complications – I’ll be going down to see Harry soon, and you must concentrate on eliminating my original magic from the charm before Gellert awakens!”

Felix nodded, his mind sinking down to the brightly glowing mass of the charm that currently coiled around the little finger of his right arm, looking lazy and harmless. But Felix had no doubt that if it had been placed on any other wizard – even Snape – he wouldn’t have been able to withstand it at all.

Because essentially, this thing is part of the curse that is inflicted on Grindelwald.

Or to put it another way – it is a fragment of the curse that Dumbledore actively cut off, modified to make it less offensive. It is also due to the fact that the two are of the same origin that Dumbledore can sense Grindelwald’s state.

The reverse also applies.

It is just that the restraint on Grindelwald is too strong for him to invoke it normally.

It is nearly eight hours before dawn, about the same time Felix predicts Grindelwald will wake up, and he is confident in the strength of his own spell, unless some fool has used a powerful Reviving Spell on Grindelwald.

He and Dumbledore aren’t gods, but all that could be done was done –

The exclusive wand on Grindelwald had been removed at the first opportunity, which had almost knocked him back to his original form and turned him back into a squib – the transfer of the charm did not affect the restraining magic on Grindelwald from working, it just that the other man’s state could not be probed until Felix gained control of the charm a little more.

Furthermore, Dumbledore had personally communicated with the International Confederation of Wizards about the transfer plan, not to mention that in the meantime Felix had been keeping a close eye on Grindelwald’s unusual movements as Dumbledore had instructed – the sneakoscope in Neville’s hand was no secret, and Felix had come to the same conclusion as Hermione that the sneakoscope was broken and had no other magic attached to it.

But even so, they could not guarantee that it would be foolproof.

Dumbledore wanted Grindelwald alive, even if the last thing Grindelwald remembered of him is a cold side. That’s why things are so problematic, so many tricks can’t be used, and it’s just plain that Grindelwald is never an easy character to deal with.

In the worst-case scenario, Grindelwald will find that the controller of the charm has changed if he wakes up soon – but that’s about it.

His fate would not be altered in any way.

As for the Acolyte’s attempt to abduct the prisoner, it might appear something that would cause sky-high headaches to the International Confederation of Wizards, but by the time Felix had mastered the charm, he would be able to sense Grindelwald’s general location based on it, and unless he kept moving, he would be found by Felix sooner or later.

In the event of Felix being the one that trying to catch him, Grindelwald’s chances of escaping are very low – unless there are literally thousands of wizards guarding him day and night.

In the end, Grindelwald’s own power was long gone from its peak.

But Felix roughly guessed one other possibility: if the wizarding community became exposed one day and things turned ugly, Grindelwald would be a dangerous trump card. This may also be the idea that Dumbledore thought of.

…

Felix worked with nearly two minds, in addition to trying to control the charm, he also divided some of his attention to the mirror that playing a scene in mid-air, by now Voldemort had already awakened, he narrowed his eyes and surveyed his surroundings, not expecting to be in a wooded area by any means.

“What is this place?” Voldemort asked softly, after a long pause.

The sun is shining brightly above them, the green grass lush beneath them, the wind blowing from nowhere and rustling the leaves. Not far away, a huge dragon towing a dozen carriages hovered in the background, and although it’s a distant memory, Voldemort recognized it at once – a rollercoaster that only could be found in a muggle amusement park.

Although Muggle-built roller coasters wouldn’t hover above a snowy mountain, and this coaster lacked tracks underneath …, Voldemort didn’t find it unsightly; on the contrary, he found it quite pleasant to look at, and couldn’t help but look at it a little more.

“Salazar Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets.” Harry said with a blank face, “Felix – Hap,” he paused, “transformed the Chamber of Secrets into what it is now.”

“So I’m a few kilometres under Hogwarts now?” Voldemort said, picking up a leaf from the ground and crumbling it a little. He showed a smile, his eyes glowing scarlet, “Severus! I thought for a while that you had betrayed me, it seems I was wrong, yes, even the greatest of men make mistakes, do accept my apologies, my loyal friend-”

He said as he opened his arms and moved towards Harry, as if to give him a warm hug and at the same time celebrate his successful escape. But Voldemort paused.

The look in Snape’s eyes felt foreign to him, there is something extra in the dead silence that normally radiates from his black pupils, so hot, so dazzling that he couldn’t pretend to ignore it – Snape’s eyes filled with hatred.

“Severus?” He uttered slowly, his eyes growing a little grimmer.

“Dumbledore and Hap decided to permanently imprison you, but I couldn’t accept that, it would be too kind to you. I stole this from Dumbledore’s office.” Harry told a half-truth, tossing a white wand at Voldemort’s feet while he himself clutched the wand that belonged to Snape.

Voldemort stared blankly at the wand on the floor, he could not mistake it, it is his first wand, so fitting that he never would have thought to look for a replacement if Dumbledore hadn’t snatched it away from him.

He thought he had lost it forever, but at this moment, his wand had made a dramatic appearance.

Instead of feeling joy at the prospect of regaining it, he was more surprised by Snape’s attitude. “Pick it up and let’s duel.” Harry stated coldly, “I’ve arranged an Anti-Apparition Charm all around, you can’t escape.” Voldemort looked at him with an ominous look in his eyes, Harry expected him to say something, like asking him why, but Voldemort didn’t. He held out his hand and the wand flew into his hand with a swish.

The tips of his long fingers gently brushed over the wand that belonged to him, “I didn’t know you hated me so much, Severus? Why?” Voldemort hissed. In reality, he concentrated mostly on examining his wand to see if it had been tampered with, power is the key at the moment. Of course, he is also interested to know why his servant’s attitude has suddenly changed dramatically.

He had initially assumed that Snape had been sent by Dumbledore or Hap with some sort of ulterior motive, but now he didn’t think so.

“Of course, I-” Harry said subconsciously.

“Don’t lie to me!” Voldemort scowled, “You think I can’t see the hatred in your eyes?” He raised his wand abruptly, so fast that it looked as if his previous weakness was all a pretence.

“Crucio!”

“Protego!”

The curse brushed past Harry’s hair, his heart thumped, he was completely unprepared for Voldemort’s sudden attack, he subconsciously fought back against it, but his eyes couldn’t keep track – he had been sent here to die, not to lose his conscious and be tortured by Voldemort.

Voldemort looked even angrier and shot out a series of spells, but none of them were lethal; he still maintained his reason and tried to capture Snape to force information out of his head.

“How dare you defy me! Defy the lord you serve? Why?” He growled loudly.

“I thought you should have figured that out – because of Lily Evans.” After a moment of silent confrontation, Harry said, his calm voice filled with hate, as if he had become the real Snape and was speaking through his mouth, “You took her life.”

“Lies! You told me you didn’t care about that woman and would find a better one – tell me the truth!” Voldemort shouted in a harsh tone.

“Oh, use your head, of course, I would say that at the time, how else was I supposed to stay undercover among the Death Eaters? Think about it, Voldemort, why have you failed so many times? Because I wasn’t your man years ago, much, much earlier than you think – I defected to Dumbledore from the time you went after her and her family, and after Lily’s death, I lived for one sole purpose -”

“Hoping – for – you – to die.” Harry said in one breath.

“Ridiculous!” Voldemort shouted, out of anger. He couldn’t stand being lied to, especially being tricked like a buffoon for over a decade, but a voice told him that it was all true: Snape hadn’t betrayed him recently, and from beginning to end, his loyalty had been a disguise. All the while, he allowed a traitor to be in a high position, passing a constant stream of information to Dumbledore. He had even considered Snape to be his brilliant prize. This came as no less than a great blow to him.

Harry felt the wrath in Voldemort’s heart and as the magic built up in the tip of his wand, he decided to add another punch.

“You don’t even realize this, right? Severus Snape’s Patronus is – a doe, the same as Lily Evans’, and it has never changed! Do I need to show you? Behold, Expecto Patronum-”

A silvery creature materialized. Harry didn’t let it fully manifest itself, the large horns hidden in the silver mist.

“You’re a clown, Voldemort.” He said contemptuously.

Harry succeeded, Voldemort was utterly enraged, and he was filled with murderous intent. Then, there was a flash of green light. Strong thoughts of survival raced through Harry’s mind, telling him to get out of the way quickly, but then he realised he couldn’t, and the conflicting mindset caused him to raise his wand in his hand only an inch when he was struck by Voldemort.

Harry fell to the ground, losing his breath of life.

“Avada Kedavra!” The voice of the man sounded distant.

At the same time, Voldemort felt a sudden, sharp pain in his heart and he fell to his back …

After an unknown amount of time, Harry heard his name being called, the voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t remember who it belonged to, he was dazed and floating in the blissful atmosphere, his mind was overwhelmingly relaxed as if all the stress he had carried in his life had disappeared.

He wanted to lie down a little longer (although he wasn’t sure he is even lying anywhere), but the voice that kept urging him on became clearer and stronger, and like a drowning man, he fell back from the overwhelmingly wonderful sensation to the cold reality.

Harry opened his eyes and looked at the old face close at hand and sobered up with a start.

“I… Professor Dumbledore?”

“You slept like the dead, Harry.” Dumbledore said cheerfully, “I’ve been calling you for a long time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, why am I here? Wasn’t I dueling with Voldemort?” Harry asked.

“Think about it, Harry.” Dumbledore said encouragingly, his tone exactly the same as when he had given Harry a lesson to discuss the problem previously.

“I …”

Harry tried to remember, his memories were a little fuzzy, but when he decided to think about it, they came back immediately, and vividly, he remembered exactly what had happened, going to the Chamber of Secrets alone to duel Voldemort, or to be precise, he was sent down to his death. He remembered the whole process.

He even recalls the first time Aunt Marge came to visit Dursley’s house, his face was pinched and swollen with her nails, and he was only two years old at the time. Normally he would never be able to remember something that far back.

Normally he would have felt anger too, but at the moment he felt very peaceful and devoid of any emotion – he remembered but didn’t feel much.

“Where is this place?”

“Where do people go when they die?” Dumbledore asked faintly in return.

“I, I died?”

“It’s very close to that state, but … no, you’re still alive, in the middle of life and death.” Dumbledore said. He winked, “Harry, I suggest you better get dressed, just think about it in your mind.” n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Harry looked down and realised he didn’t have a single piece of clothing on, and even in this strange state he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. He took Dumbledore’s advice and the thought ‘clothes’ just flashed through his mind and an extra set of clothes appeared on his body.

Harry rose from the ground when he discovered that the mist had dispersed and behind Dumbledore, there is a village.

“This is Godric’s Hollow?”

————–

[Author:]

This storyline should be over tomorrow, I couldn’t finish writing it today.

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