Chapter 696: Voldemort: I've Drawn the Enemy Here, Why Am I Not in an Ambush? (Edited)

After taking Ron to a safe location, Dumbledore watched Voldemort and Harry with great interest. In that moment, Dumbledore resembled a curious child eager for knowledge.

The situation of Voldemort and Harry was extremely rare in the history of magic, probably the first of its kind – how could Dumbledore not be intrigued?

So, he observed closely.

A moment later, Voldemort suddenly opened his eyes, like someone waking from a nightmare.

"Master... Are you alright?" Bellatrix looked at Voldemort with a worried expression, her words sounding as if she were whispering to a lover.

When Voldemort regained consciousness, Harry's fingers trembled slightly.

"No problem," Voldemort breathed deeply, trying to calm himself.

However, even a wizard who hadn't finished his education could tell that something was amiss – he had failed to cast the Killing Curse! The last time he attempted the curse, it had been reflected back at him and turned him into dust.

The concern in Bellatrix's eyes became almost tangible. As for her feelings toward Voldemort, Bellatrix might be considered the most sincere follower. Though it seemed absurd, it was actually a twisted form of love.

However, Voldemort was not aware of this. To him, Bellatrix was nothing more than a useful and loyal slave.

Love? Voldemort didn't understand it and had no interest in comprehending such useless emotion.

He could use Bellatrix to satisfy his desires, but that wasn't love; it was rather a sense of possession. He derived a special pleasure from conquering this descendant of a pure-blood family, and his sense of ownership intensified after Bellatrix became another man's wife.

At this moment, Voldemort clearly had no head for such matters and found Bellatrix's concerns irritating.

"Are you alright? Of course not! The great Lord Voldemort had failed to crush an insignificant insect. Internally, Voldemort felt wobbly and confused. However, when asked, he would naturally say that everything was fine.

He was the great Dark Lord; he wouldn't fall due to a stumble like this.

Bellatrix didn't believe Voldemort's words at all. At this moment, she was completely disoriented. She didn't know what would happen if Voldemort were defeated again by that boy. Would she go back to Azkaban?

"Master, I..." She wanted to help Voldemort to his feet, but he gave her a fierce look that made her withdraw her hand.

Voldemort struggled to stand up and looked at Harry lying on the ground.

"Is he dead?" Voldemort was a bit uncertain. He assumed Harry Potter should be dead, after all, he had been hit by the Killing Curse. This time, he didn't have a mother sacrificing herself for him!

"He isn't," Dumbledore stepped forward and answered for Harry, who was currently pretending to be dead on the ground.

Dumbledore had arrived!

Harry almost wanted to jump up from the ground and cheer in excitement.

After Voldemort's Killing Curse had hit him, he had a strange dream. He was in a place resembling King's Cross Station, with no one around, searching and only finding a repugnant creature.

After getting rid of the disgusting thing and tossing it into a trash bin, Harry woke up and heard Dumbledore's voice.

Harry felt moved – Dumbledore hadn't let him down; he had truly come.

"Dumbledore," Voldemort roared loudly, his voice filled with relief, as if saying, 'Ah, that makes sense! That strange situation was a trick by Dumbledore; that makes a lot of sense.'

Voldemort immediately believed this excuse and attributed all the strangeness to Dumbledore. He gazed at the elderly wizard standing before him with crimson fire sparks in his eyes.

"You've finally appeared! I knew you would come!"

"Yes, Riddle. After hearing Mr. Potter's 'dream,' I decided to come. We have unfinished business," Dumbledore replied calmly.

Upon hearing the surname "Riddle," Voldemort frowned, but now was not the time to worry about surnames – there were more important matters at stake.

"Come forth, my allies!" Voldemort shouted with satisfaction. "Albus Dumbledore, today this place will be your eternal resting place! The Japanese Ministry wizards and the American Trackers have been waiting here for a long time."

This was Voldemort's plan. He used a fake dream to lure Harry Potter to the Ministry of Magic and then use him as bait to draw Dumbledore and his Ministry helpers here to be exterminated once and for all.

For this purpose, Voldemort had placed an Anti-Apparition Charm on the area, so he could annihilate Dumbledore and his followers in the midst of his allies' encirclement.

Voldemort's voice echoed among the shelves of the Hall of Prophecies, but even after the echo faded, his allies were nowhere to be seen.

There was no sign of the Japanese wizards and Trackers who should theoretically have come when called.

Voldemort: ???

He was perplexed, then realized he had been betrayed by his two allies. They only wanted a dupe to lure Dumbledore out of Hogwarts. Now, the allies could be outside the gates of Hogwarts.

This fact infuriated Voldemort. It was an outright betrayal! He had always been the one using others; how could they use him?

These years of arrogance and hubris had caused Voldemort to lose some basic judgment. Things like relationships between people and factions were not straightforward; there was manipulation, cooperation, and betrayal.

Did the Japanese Ministry of Magic have a rule against betraying Voldemort? No, they had no qualms about defying even written laws, let alone some vague gentleman's agreement.

The Death Eaters wouldn't dare to betray Voldemort, but the Japanese wizards did. To them, what was Voldemort? Was his cause more important than theirs? So, they simply sold out Voldemort and, along with the Trackers, headed straight to Hogwarts.

For the Trackers, attacking a wizarding school was much more valuable than attacking the Ministry of Magic. Attacking the Ministry would only destroy the present, but taking Hogwarts meant destroying the future of the magical world.

So, these two forces were already outside Hogwarts, with only Voldemort remaining in the Ministry of Magic, awaiting Dumbledore's arrival.

"Tom, it seems your new friends aren't as reliable as your old ones," said Dumbledore as he took a step forward. At this moment, he also became aware of the movements of the other two factions, but Dumbledore chose to trust the younger generations.

Tonight, every generation had its mission.

Dumbledore's mission was to personally deal with the Second Dark Lord here.

Unlike Grindelwald, Tom Riddle was someone Dumbledore personally introduced to the magical world, and Dumbledore always felt that Voldemort's rise was related to him.

Since that was the case, his mission was clear.

From outside the Hall of Prophecies, hurried footsteps could be heard as Minister of Magic Bones appeared with a group of Aurors. Dumbledore had informed Bones before arriving at the Ministry of Magic, and upon receiving the news, Bones didn't dare to waste any time and immediately gathered the Ministry's elite forces to assist.

When they saw Voldemort, they were all shocked and their hearts skipped a beat. But upon seeing Dumbledore's white beard and hair, their heartbeats returned to normal. And when they saw that only Bellatrix was with Voldemort, they ceased to fear.

"Tom, let these uninvolved people leave; it's time for a serious conversation," in an environment where Dumbledore had a significant advantage, he suggested facing Voldemort in a duel.

Of course, the Ministry personnel were not willing. What if Voldemort won? But Dumbledore had already made his decision.

"Albus..." Bones wanted to persuade him once more, but Dumbledore only gave her a glance and left her in charge of leading the people to help at Hogwarts.

As for Bellatrix, no one paid attention, not even Voldemort. To him, if he won the duel, Bellatrix would be safe; if he lost, what did it matter what happened to Bellatrix?

So, he accepted Dumbledore's proposal and watched as the Ministry of Magic personnel took Bellatrix out of the Hall of Prophecies.

Bellatrix herself didn't resist either; she quietly allowed the Aurors to take her wand and bind her hands, which was surprising cooperation.

But after exiting the Hall of Prophecies, she stood still in the corridor.

"Let her stay here and watch as her supposed master is defeated," Bones decided in the end and left Bellatrix outside the Hall of Prophecies before taking the Aurors and a bewildered Harry to Hogwarts.

Now, in the vast Hall of Prophecies, only Dumbledore and Voldemort remained.

As if they had communicated telepathically, both waved their wands and sent the shelves filled with prophecy orbs crashing against the walls, creating a wide space for their duel.

The prophecy orbs fell to the ground, creating countless blurry images of wizards whispering, filling the Hall of Prophecies with a deafening noise.

In the next moment, flames rose behind Dumbledore and Voldemort, sliding along the floor, quickly encircling the Hall of Prophecies and drawing the tumultuous illusions within them.

The golden and dark green flames intertwined, forming an imposing wall of fire that gave off both a divine and malevolent aura. Anyone who saw it would believe that these flames were capable of devouring everything.

Dumbledore and Voldemort joined forces to seal off the Hall of Prophecies. Combined with the previously prepared Anti-Apparition Charm, this place became an inescapable battleground; only one of them would come out alive.

"Dumbledore, this will be your final resting place!"

"Everything must end, Tom."

Boom!

The battle began.

Meanwhile, Tom was stargazing.

The moon was bright tonight. Hermione was by his side, with a subtle expression of concealed anxiety on her face.

"Professor Dumbledore is probably facing Voldemort by now," Hermione suggested with some uncertainty.

Tom nodded.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Hermione was restless because Dumbledore might be in the midst of a bloody battle while she remained at Hogwarts, doing nothing, which made her nervous.

"Each generation has its mission. Professor Dumbledore is fulfilling his, and we must fulfill ours."

"Our mission?" Hermione was puzzled.

Tom, who would normally explain it seriously, remained silent this time and simply looked at the moon. Finally, he told Hermione, "Put on the clothes I gave you; tonight, Hogwarts will be very lively."

With that, he left the Astronomy Tower and summoned his alchemical armor, also bringing Buckbeak by his side.

Tom felt that things wouldn't be so simple, so he needed to make final preparations. If the Japanese wizards and the Trackers arrived at Hogwarts, he had to teach them a lesson.

Outside the gates of Hogwarts, unexpected starry lights lit up. Eyes were fixed on the tall iron gates and the dark courtyard, gazing at the illuminated castle, their eyes filled with a cruel and resolute determination before they began a slaughter.

The Trackers and the Japanese wizards had arrived.

Leading the way was a woman in armor, whom Hogwarts students would have recognized if they had looked closely as the "elder sister" who had acted at the school two years ago and then disappeared.

The "elder sister," returning to her homeland, evidently had no intention of fraternizing. She only wanted to conquer this place and reclaim what was rightfully hers.

She had been separated from the other half of her soul for far too long. It was time to reunite them.

"Shogun, everything is ready," an executioner officer at her side said, informing her that everything was in place.

"Then let's begin."

With the order given, both groups moved in coordination.

The Trackers formed a line, dressed in robes that looked more like priests than wizards, holding crosses and murmuring unintelligible words.

Fire spread beneath their feet and turned into a fiery serpent.

In the next moment, a fiery serpent rose into the air, accompanied by a variety of Japanese spells, all crashing forcefully against Hogwarts' defensive barrier. In an instant, the fire illuminated the sky, and a thunder-like roar echoed throughout the castle, awakening all of Hogwarts.

The castle's barrier trembled for a moment but ultimately held its shape. The invaders showed no surprise on their faces; they simply gathered energy, preparing for the next attack.

By that time, Tom was fully equipped with his armor. After hearing the commotion, he said calmly, "It seems my prediction was correct, Hermione. I hope you can make it back to the Ravenclaw common room."

Hermione shook her head and looked up at Tom, mounted on Buckbeak. With a proud tone, she said, "In terms of magical abilities, you're no match for me. If you're fighting on the front lines, then so am I. You need me to protect you."

Tom smiled.

"Practice is the only criterion for verifying truth. Let this battle determine our difference in abilities."