At noon, the bright sunlight finally broke through the heavy clouds and cast its golden threads through the gaps in the densely clouded sky, enveloping Harry and Voldemort who were engaged in a fateful duel.
The Death Eaters mistook that for sunlight. But soon they realized that it was something else entirely!
I should not have let those people down, have I?
As the neonskin barrier and red electric lock clashed, Harry tiredly thought he hadn't cringed to Voldemort, showing no sign of weakness, and bravely attacked. He was not a coward; he was not like Wormtail.
Harry was waiting for death, waiting in a state of calm that was almost numb, even as he felt a touch of joy at the prospect of finally seeing Hermione and Ron again. He hoped they would wait for him, not to go too far ahead.
But what's going on?
Harry suddenly felt his wand vibrating as if it was electrified, he tightly clenched it so hard that even if he wanted to let go, he couldn't. -
Harry's eyes widened as he realized that at some point, the green light Voldemort had released had vanished, and the red lightning at the tip of his wand had disappeared too. The connection between their wands had transformed into a thin beam of light, a dazzling gold.
Harry's gaze followed the thin beam of light, extending towards the distance. He could see Voldemort's pale, slender fingers holding a wand that was trembling. The translucent snake-face, illuminated by the golden light, was filled with panic.
Then, completely unexpectedly, Harry felt his feet leave the ground. Opposite him, Voldemort did the same. Their wands remained connected by the shimmering gold thread. They kept rising, higher and higher until they reached the top of the tallest fir tree in this cemetery.
The Death Eaters were stunned. They shouted, seeking Voldemort's orders, and there were some bold ones like Barty Crouch Jr.
He was so concerned about Voldemort's safety that he fired a spell directly at Harry without permission, but before the spell hit Harry, the golden thread connecting him to Voldemort suddenly snapped. The two wands were still tightly connected, and the golden thread shattered into thousands of finer, more delicate gold arcs. These arcs formed a net that directly repelled Barty Crouch Jr.'s fatal curse.
The scene left the Death Eaters even more confused. Lucius Malfoy watched it silently, his pale face changing slightly.
"Stop moving!"
"Don't move!" Voldemort bellowed to the Death Eaters. Harry saw his scarred eyes widen in shock, indicating that he was just as stunned by what was happening in front of him, far beyond his understanding of magic.
Suddenly, enchanting music began to ring in the air above them. It came from every golden thread of the glowing net surrounding Harry and Voldemort. Harry recognized it, even though he had only heard it once before. It was Phoenix - Fawkes's song!
Don't break the connection!
This music not only appeared in Harry's ears but also in his heart. Without realizing it, a mental image of an old man with a wise appearance appeared in front of him, like Albus Dumbledore himself, as if he was here, and was instructing him.
Facing this voice's demand, Harry hesitated. He knew the situation was advantageous to him, but he had already made up his mind to die.
Just as Harry hesitated, his wand vibrated even more fiercely, and the golden thread connecting him to Voldemort changed as well. It seemed that large, glowing beads were sliding along the threads of light. Harry's hand trembled, and the glowing beads drew closer to him, while the frequency of his wand's vibration increased.
Harry instinctively tightened his wand, and then he saw that Voldemort seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, as if the pressure had been relieved. This only fueled the anger within Harry!
Determined, Harry resolved to win this unusual duel, regardless of its outcome and the consequences that might follow. He instinctively knew that he and Voldemort were evenly matched in this battle. If that was the case, Harry decided to win the first round before calmly facing death.
He focused all his will, striving to push the glowing bead towards Voldemort's side. The phoenix's song echoed in his ears, his gaze firm and fiery. Slowly, very slowly, the glowing bead stopped sliding towards him and began to move slowly towards the other end.
Now, Voldemort's wand began to shake violently, and Voldemort looked shocked and terrified. This only added to Harry's sense of satisfaction, and he focused even more intently on pushing those glowing beads.
A glowing bead trembled, just a few inches away from the tip of Voldemort's wand, and still moving closer.
Whatever might happen when the glowing bead touched Voldemort's wand, Harry felt that there was something Voldemort would not want to see. He had never been more focused on a single task in his life, determined to push the bead into Voldemort's wand tip, slowly. The bead moved along the thread, trembling, and for a moment connected with the tip of the wand.
Suddenly, Voldemort's wand let out a scream of agony and echoed endlessly. Then, Voldemort's red eyes widened in shock.
His wand tip first shot out several streams of gray mist, its meaning unclear. But soon after, a hand made of thick smoke burst from the wand tip, enveloped Voldemort's head twice and disappeared.
Is it the hand Voldemort had created for Barty Crouch Jr.?
Harry guessed, feeling that this was the truth.
Suddenly, several more streams of mist emerged. Then, his wand let out another piercing shriek.
An object larger than a hand emerged from Voldemort's wand, also composed of thick smoke. First came a head, followed by an arm and then a body.
Harry stared in horror as his blue eyes widened. He remembered seeing this old man in his dreams. Voldemort and Kriona were plotting something, and this man had entered and lost his life immediately.
Finally, the old man's entire body emerged. He leaned on his cane, slightly surprised to see the two engaged in a battle, connected by the enchanted web and their wands.
"So, he's really a wizard?" the old man said, his eyes fixed on Voldemort. "This fellow took my life. Fight him, boy."
Voldemort's expression returned to one of panic. He recognized the muggle who had died at his hands, but he could not understand what was happening now.
A ghost, again?
And the odd movements of Voldemort's wand did not end there. Another head appeared, this time composed of gray smoke, and it was a woman!
In an instant of confusion, Harry almost dropped his wand. He quickly regained control, and both of his arms were shaking.
It was Bertha Jorkins.
Since the Ministry of Magic had confirmed that this employee was missing rather than lost, this story had been published several times in The Daily Prophet, and Harry had seen this woman's photograph in the newspaper!
Bertha Jorkins' ghost stared in horror at the fight in front of her.
"Don't let go!"
Her shout echoed like the old man's, as if it were coming from far away.
"Don't let him kill you, Harry. Don't let go!"
No
Harry shouted within his heart.
That's not right!
He had figured something out, even though he didn't know the principle behind this magical phenomenon. But he would make some guesses based on it!
This shouldn't be happening!
Harry shook with excitement, his emerald eyes, filled with tears, were no longer filled with hatred, but hope!
Something was missing!
Harry's heart cried out with a devout plea!
If the small victory Harry had just achieved truly caused Voldemort's wand to revert to the spell it had previously cast, and the hand, the old man, and Bertha Jorkins' ghost had appeared, then they should not have been missing from this!
Ron and Hermione!
Their spirits had not appeared. If Voldemort's wand was truly replaying, then they should have appeared before the old man and Bertha Jorkins, unless... there was only one possibility.
Harry's gaze suddenly fell on the corpses.
Only one possibility, Ron and Hermione were not dead! (End of Chapter)
