Chapter 290: Harry Dead?

Under the gaze of the Death Eaters and Alaric, Voldemort's duel with Harry began.

No, it wasn't so much a duel as it was a completely one-sided torment.

Voldemort raised his wand, and before Harry could even defend himself, let alone move, he was struck by the Cruciatus Curse.

Intense pain engulfed him, and he lost all sense of where he was...

It felt like searing knives piercing every inch of his skin, his head throbbing as if it might split open.

He screamed in agony, the most piercing scream he had ever uttered in his life—

Fleur lowered her head, Hermione closed her eyes, but the Death Eaters were excited.

Then everything stopped.

Harry rolled over and struggled to his feet, trembling uncontrollably as if he had just lost control of his body after Peter's hand was cut off.

He staggered into the wall of Death Eaters, who pushed him back towards Voldemort.

"Pause," Voldemort said, his two narrow nostrils widening in excitement.

"Rest for a moment... It hurts, doesn't it, Harry? You wouldn't want me to do that again, would you?"

Harry didn't answer. He would die like his mother.

Those cruel red eyes were telling him that... He would be killed, and there was nothing he could do...

But he wouldn't surrender.

He wouldn't be manipulated by Voldemort... He wouldn't beg for mercy...

"I asked if you want me to do it again," Voldemort said softly. "Answer me!"

Suddenly, Harry felt his mind empty, the third time in his life he had felt this way...

How blissful, not having to think. He felt like he was floating, dreaming... Say "no"... Say it... Say "no"...

"I won't say," a stronger voice deep within Harry's mind said. "I won't answer..."

"Say 'no'..."

"I won't say, never..."

"Say 'no'."

"I won't say!"

Those words burst out of Harry's mouth, echoing above the graveyard.

The dreamlike state suddenly disappeared, as if he had been splashed with cold water.

The pain from the Cruciatus Curse spread throughout his body again— he realized where he was, what was in front of him...

Although Harry himself was very weak, which made Alaric quite disdainful, Alaric had to admit that Harry's ability to defeat Voldemort in the original book proved that he still had some merits.

Just now, he actually broke free from Voldemort's Imperius Curse by his own will!

Although the reasons behind this were complex, such as the fragment of Voldemort's soul within Harry's body.

And Voldemort was only playing with him rather than using his full power, it was enough to prove one of Harry's strengths as the Chosen One— a strong will.

Even Alaric nodded in approval, giving him a somewhat higher evaluation.

"You won't say?" Voldemort said softly.

The Death Eaters stopped laughing.

"You refuse to say 'no,' Harry? Before you die, I'll teach you the virtue of obedience... Perhaps a bit more pain?"

Voldemort raised his wand, but this time Harry was prepared.

Using the agility he had honed in Quidditch matches, he lunged sideways, dodging the spell.

He heard the sound of a tombstone opening.

"We're not playing hide and seek, Harry," Voldemort said softly, his cold voice gradually approaching, the Death Eaters laughing.

"You can't hide from me. Does this mean you're tired of our duel?

Do you want me to end it now, Harry?

Come out, Harry... Come out and duel... Quickly... Without pain... I don't know... I've never tasted death..."

At this moment, Alaric glanced back at the two girls.

"The time has come, I'm going to intervene," he reminded.

"Be prepared."

The two girls were nervous.

They knew what it meant when Alaric intervened: his magic was quite conspicuous.

Once Alaric acted, their presence would be greatly heightened, meaning even the earlier presence reducing potion couldn't hide their traces.

They had to face Voldemort and a dozen Death Eaters head-on.

This was a situation even Dumbledore might not handle.

However, they looked at Alaric and nodded firmly.

They decided to stand with Alaric, trusting him with everything.

Alaric handed them several red heart-shaped badges marked with "+1".

"Experiments in the maze have proven that this life-saving badge works," Alaric said with a smile.

"But I haven't made many, so be careful on your own."

Meanwhile, Harry was crouched behind the tombstone.

He knew it was all over— no hope... Isolation.

He listened as Voldemort approached step by step, with only one thought in his mind, a thought that surpassed fear and reason.

He couldn't die cowering here like a child playing hide and seek; he couldn't kneel at Voldemort's feet...

He had to die standing like his father, to die defending himself, even though defending himself was impossible...

Before Voldemort's snake-like face turned around the tombstone, Harry stood up...

He gripped his wand tightly, raised it in front of him, and dashed out, directly facing Voldemort.

But Voldemort was prepared too.

Just as Harry was about to shout "Expelliarmus!", Voldemort shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

However, Voldemort's Killing Curse was already cast, while Harry's Disarming Charm remained unspoken.

A faster Disarming Charm shot out unexpectedly from behind a tombstone, hitting Harry's back in the blink of an eye.

Harry staggered from the attack, his wand flying out of his hand.

At that moment, someone stood up from behind the tombstone, reaching out and grabbing Harry's wand.

Only then did Voldemort and the Death Eaters realize that there were three people hiding behind that tombstone!

They couldn't believe that three people had been hiding right under their noses without their knowledge.

However, for Voldemort, another event unfolding at this moment was even more critical.

The green Killing Curse hit Harry, sending him flying like a ragdoll, crashing into the wall of Death Eaters before slumping to the ground.

At this moment, his mouth half-opened, his eyes devoid of any light, he... was dead.

But at the same time, Voldemort himself collapsed with a soft thud, and the Death Eaters, now paying no attention to Harry or the sudden appearance of Alaric and the others, rushed over in a panic to see Voldemort's current condition.

Because Voldemort died from the rebound of his own curse, with a precedent— although there had been no scene of a curse rebound just now.

But Alaric knew why this happened.

It was because the fragment of Voldemort's soul in Harry's body had been destroyed, weakening Voldemort momentarily due to the feedback from the destruction of his soul— of course, he would recover soon.

However, even so, Voldemort still managed to force out a hoarse voice.

"I'm fine!"

With the support of the Death Eaters, he stood up again and looked in the direction of Alaric and the others.

"Let's see who the little mouse sneaking in is."

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