Just as Harry and Cedric's hands grasped the triwizard cup, a powerful force tugged at their navels.
The world spun madly before their eyes, colors and sounds stretched into blurry lines.
The ground beneath their feet vanished, replaced by an irresistible sensation of being dragged at high speed.
"Bang!"
The two fell heavily onto damp earth.
Harry struggled to lift his head, a painful ache in his leg.
He looked around; this was definitely not Hogwarts' Quidditch Pitch.
It was a gloomy graveyard.
Dilapidated tombstones surrounded them, shrouded in a thick night fog.
The outline of a small chapel loomed in the distance, next to a massive yew tree.
The triwizard cup lay at their feet, its blue glow extinguished, now just an ordinary cup.
"Where is this?" Cedric asked, supporting Harry's arm, standing up in alarm and gripping his magic wand.
Harry's heart pounded.
He recognized this place.
He had been here countless times in his nightmares.
"Run!" Harry's voice trembled with fear. "We have to go back, grab the trophy!"
But it was too late.
A short figure emerged from the shadow of the yew tree, wearing a hooded cloak, holding a...thing in his arms.
The thing resembled a curled-up infant, but its skin was scaly, hairless, with a flat face and a pair of red eyes gleaming wickedly in the dark.
"Kill the one who's in the way."
A high-pitched voice came from the
The short figure holding it raised his magic wand, pointing it at Cedric.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A blinding green light, like a venomous snake, shot towards Cedric.
Cedric had no time to react; he only saw the green light instantly fill his vision.
However, just as the green light was about to strike his chest, the rune Dumbledore had left inside his clothes lit up, erupting in a soft yet resilient white light.
The white light collided with the green light, without a deafening roar.
The Killing Curse's energy was absorbed by an invisible sponge, and most of its death power was neutralized.
But the residual impact was still immense, striking Cedric's chest like a heavy hammer.
He grunted, flying backward and crashing heavily to the ground, eyes wide open and unmoving.
Beneath the skin of his chest, the rune became dim, having expended all its power.
Harry witnessed all of this, his mind blank.
fear drenched him from head to toe like ice water.
"Cedric!" he shrieked.
The short figure—Wormtail—had escaped Azkaban again.
Ignoring Harry, he walked to a large stone cauldron and placed the ugly
Flames burned fiercely beneath the cauldron, and the liquid within boiled, emitting an eerie glow.
Harry tried to rush over, but an invisible force lifted him into the air and slammed him against a tall marble tombstone.
Ropes appeared out of thin air, binding him tightly to the tombstone.
He saw the name on the tombstone clearly: Tom Riddle.
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will resurrect your son."
Wormtail pried open the grave in front of the tombstone with his magic wand, took out a bone, and placed it in the cauldron.
"Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master."
He drew a dagger, looked at his shining silver hand, and without hesitation, chopped off his own right hand.
The bloody hand fell into the cauldron, and Wormtail let out a painful whimper.
"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will rebirth your foe."
Wormtail, holding the dagger, staggered towards Harry.
He sliced Harry's arm with the dagger and dripped the blood into the swirling turbid liquid.
The liquid in the cauldron immediately turned a dazzling white.
Sparks flew, and white light shot into the sky.
A tall, gaunt figure slowly rose from the cauldron.
He was hairless, his skin as white as pearl.
His face was flat like a snake's, his nostrils were two thin slits, and in his scarlet eyes, the pupils were vertical slits.
Lord Voldemort was reborn.
He flexed his long fingers, examining his newly formed body, and let out a satisfied hiss.
His gaze swept over Cedric, lying motionless on the ground, then fell upon Harry, bound to the tombstone.
"My magic wand, Wormtail."
Wormtail handed over the magic wand. Lord Voldemort took it, then pointed it at Wormtail.
A silver light flashed, and a brand new, gleaming silver hand grew from Wormtail's severed arm.
Then, Lord Voldemort pressed the dark mark on his arm.
In the night sky, a series of explosions sounded.
Figures in black robes and masks appeared out of thin air; they were Death Eaters.
Seeing the reborn Lord Voldemort, they all knelt to the ground.
Lord Voldemort began his speech.
He reprimanded the Death Eaters who had not sought him out after his downfall and praised his only loyal servant, currently at Hogwarts.
He recounted how he had clung to life with Wormtail's help and how he had devised this elaborate plan to bring Harry Potter here.
Harry listened to all of this, his body trembling uncontrollably with anger and fear.
He looked at Cedric lying on the ground, his heart filled with despair, feeling a slight resentment towards Dumbledore's ineffective protection.
"Now..." Lord Voldemort turned to Harry, "we will have a real duel."
He used his magic wand to untie the ropes on Harry.
"Pick up your magic wand, Potter. I want to show you what true power is."
Harry picked up his magic wand from the ground and shakily stood up.
Although he had no chance of winning, he couldn't just die like this.
"Cruciatus Curse!" Lord Voldemort waved his magic wand scornfully.
Excruciating pain instantly swept through Harry's entire body; he fell to the ground, writhing in agony, feeling every nerve burning.
Lord Voldemort stopped the spell, and the Death Eaters burst into laughter.
"Now, we will do it the traditional way," Lord Voldemort said. "Bow, Harry. Bow to death."
He magically forced Harry to bend down, performing a humiliating bow.
"Very good." Lord Voldemort also bowed slightly. "Now...Avada Kedavra!"
"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted at the same moment.
A green light and a red light collided in mid-air.
A miracle occurred.
The two beams of light did not cancel each other out but connected, forming a golden, sparkling band of light.
Harry's and Lord Voldemort's magic wands trembled violently, a powerful force pulling them towards each other.
"Priori Incantatem!" Lord Voldemort exclaimed in shock.
Harry's magic wand began to force Lord Voldemort's magic wand to
A blurry shadow emerged from Lord Voldemort's wand tip; it was Cedric's.
"Harry, take him back!" Cedric's shadow said. "Take my body back, take it to my father!"
Then, another shadow appeared, that of an old man, Frank Bryce.
Then Bertha Jorkins.
Finally, the two clearest shadows appeared.
They were Harry's mother and father.
"Hold on, Harry!" James Potter's voice encouraged him.
"We'll cover you," Lily Potter said gently, "as soon as you break the connection, run to the Portkey!"
All the shadows began to float towards Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters, creating chaos.
Harry seized the opportunity and violently broke the connection.
He rushed frantically towards Cedric, grabbed his arm, and reached his other hand towards the triwizard cup not far away.
"Accio!"
The trophy flew into his hand.
The world spun again.
As Harry fell heavily at the edge of the Quidditch Pitch, deafening cheers and the sound of the marching band instantly engulfed him.
But he heard nothing. He just clutched Cedric's body tightly, trembling all over.
The crowd quieted. They saw Harry, and they saw Cedric Diggory lying motionless beside him.
A piercing scream cut through the night sky.
Dumbledore was the first to rush over, followed by Cornelius Fudge and
Hermione and Lia also rushed down from the stands like madwomen.
"He's back!" Harry cried incoherently, tears and snot smearing his face. "Lord Voldemort is back! He killed Cedric! He killed him!"
Dumbledore knelt beside Cedric; he reached out to check Cedric's breath and then touched his neck.
His movements were light, but in Lia's Eye of Truth, this scene presented a completely different sight.
In her vision, Cedric's body was a deep gray, representing death.
However, at the position of his heart, a faint, almost invisible golden speck of light pulsed persistently, like a candle flickering in the wind.
The moment Dumbledore's wrinkled fingers touched Cedric's skin, Lia clearly saw a wisp of life magic, warm and vast as the sun, originating from Dumbledore, gently cover that golden speck of light, forming a barrier around it.
That amulet had preserved his most fundamental trace of vitality under the Killing Curse, making him enter a state of
Dumbledore slowly stood up, a sharp, unnoticed glint flashing in his deep blue eyes.
His gaze passed over Harry's grief-stricken face, swept over the panicked crowd around them, and finally landed precisely on Lia, who was rushing down from the stands.
Their eyes met.
Lia understood the question in Dumbledore's calm gaze.
At the same time,
The decaying smell, a mixture of Polyjuice Potion's bitterness and old lies, grew increasingly pungent as he approached.
Lia neither screamed nor made a fuss.
She merely met Dumbledore's gaze and glanced towards
"Alastor!"
Dumbledore's voice, like winter thunder, was majestic and cold, instantly silencing all the clamor in the arena.
"Moody," who was about to reach out to help Harry, suddenly stiffened. His magical eye turned in terror towards Dumbledore, but it was too late.
Dumbledore didn't even utter a spell; with a flick of his wrist, an invisible magical shock struck
He let out a short grunt, his body instantly petrified, frozen in place, unable to move, with the astonishment and ferocity still on his face.
This sudden scene stunned everyone—including Minister Fudge.
"Severus!" Dumbledore commanded loudly, not even looking at the controlled fake Moody, "I need some Veritaserum, now!"
Snape emerged from the crowd, a gloomy expression on his face.
"Minerva," Dumbledore then turned to Professor McGonagall, "please bring that large black dog from my office."
Finally, he helped up Madam Pomfrey, who had arrived, and whispered a few words in her ear.
Madam Pomfrey, with a few assistants, carried Cedric's
The entire process was lightning-fast; those present had not yet recovered from the shock of Cedric's
The situation was completely under the control of this White Dark Lord.
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