NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 548: The Final Horcrux - (2)
"Who am I?" 'Harry'’s eyes turned blood-red suddenly, a hiss escaping his lips. "I am, of course, the greatest dark wizard in history—"
"Oh my! The boy's possessed!"
Dumbledore gripped Harry's shoulder, speaking sternly, "You are Harry Potter, son of James and Lily. Think of them, Harry, they'd be proud of you if they were here! And your friends at school, Harry! Hold onto your identity!"
Harry found himself trapped in endless darkness, his consciousness blurred by pain. He felt himself falling endlessly... then, he heard faint voices, Dumbledore calling his name.
What's my name again?
Harry's memory was hazy. Was he Tom Riddle or Harry Potter?
"Harry, snap out of it!" Hermione urged, "Think of Sirius, think of Remus, think of Hagrid..." She listed names familiar to Harry, and amidst the endless darkness, Harry's consciousness cleared.
"I am Harry Potter," Harry muttered, staring at the red-eyed creature gripping him tightly, "You are Voldemort."
Outside, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Sirius, and Dumbledore surrounded Harry, continuously calling his name. Amelia Bones looked worried, yet she turned and shouted, "All Aurors, create a perimeter, stay alert, healers, get ready."
House-elf Bondy observed the scene, looking calmer than the rest in the chaos. "It's a bit frightening..." Suddenly, someone stumbled towards him. Bondy, aloof, raised his head to find a young person tightly wrapped, exposing only half a pointed chin."Student?" he mumbled, snapped his fingers, and disappeared suddenly.
Draco Malfoy was shoved by the crowd, falling to the ground. Through the chaos, he glimpsed Harry's face twisted in pain, and his heart trembled. He was too scared to get up, unable to fathom the agony the person of his age was enduring.
He saw Harry's mouth open, eyes reverting to emerald green.
"Get out of my head, Voldemort!"
Harry's roar echoed far away, his fists pounding the ground, causing it to tremble eerily, making pebbles jump.
"Ah... I am you, Harry Potter is our shared name..."
"No — not —" Harry gritted his teeth, struggling inch by inch to free himself from the red-eyed monster's hold.
"Get — out — of — my — head —"
He pounded the ground, each blow producing thunderous echoes, as if striking the hearts of those around.
"Good heavens, look at that boy, what's he doing —"
"Incredible!"
"Who is he?"
"It's working, continue to awaken Harry, this is a battle of wills." Felix stood behind everyone, his eyes flickering like a carousel, starry, silver, ash-gray, conjuring threads of silver at his fingertips.
Ron, Hermione, and Neville shouted eagerly, a cacophony —
"I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom, Harry, you taught me magic, remember?"
"Think of Ginny, Harry! Don't you want to see her?" Hermione called.
"We flew in a car across half of Britain together —" Ron suddenly paused, staring at Harry, stumbling over his words, "Merlin's socks, you and Ginny? When did that happen?"
Finally, a black mist erupted from Harry, Felix reached out but caught nothing. He tossed a bunch of silver threads, a cry came from the mist, and far away in the air, Voldemort's body reformed.
His snake-like face masked a myriad of emotions, joy, anger, grief, happiness...
He glared fiercely at Felix before vanishing without warning.
Unfazed by Voldemort's menacing gaze, Felix pondered silently, "Seems to have some effect, but it's not clear... Could it be my choice of emotions? What could that be... Horcruxes... Intact soul... Repentance? Repentance!"
Initially considering whether emotions could impact Voldemort, Felix planned targeted research if effective. However, a new idea struck him suddenly:
A Horcrux was a method of splitting the soul to achieve immortality, bearing the excruciating pain of a divided soul and gradually losing humanity, causing instability. Harry became a Horcrux for this reason—when Voldemort's killing curse rebounded at Godric's Hollow, a fragment of Voldemort's soul latched onto the only surviving soul amid the collapsed house.
Voldemort remained oblivious to this process.
Of course, there was a way to reunite a fractured soul, Felix recalled. As per "Secrets of Advanced Dark Magic," "genuine repentance" could reunify the split soul, but the accompanying agony was catastrophic.
Voldemort likely hadn't attempted this. But Felix thought others might help.
The method involved capturing Voldemort—alive, powerless. Then, forcefully altering his mindset or inducing a repentant state... yet this wasn't necessarily easier than outright killing him.
Harry lay gasping on the ground, shivering from the cold. Soon, he found himself levitating on a stretcher amid footsteps. Trying to speak, his mind spun wildly.
Voices above him mumbled—could be Dumbledore, Professor Snape, or Ron and Hermione. Blinking, Harry's vision blurred. A hand reached out, securing his glasses, and suddenly, everything became clear.
Dumbledore's nose was inches away, caring blue eyes peering down.
"Are you alright, Harry?"
"Doing okay," Harry replied, a bit embarrassed. "Drink this, lad; it'll help," said Mr. Slughorn, holding a thumb-sized glass vial, his expression a mix of complexity—regret and admiration—while gazing at Harry.
"Thanks," Harry muttered, swallowing the potion.
Realizing he lay in a makeshift tent with a crest on the wall, Harry stared until recognizing it wasn't Hogwarts'—strikingly similar but from Ilvermorny.
A realization hit—this was Headmistress Ilvermorny's tent. Saddened by her demise at Voldemort's hands, Harry's hatred for Voldemort intensified. His consciousness dimmed, a faint spark of insight recalled Voldemort's memories.
Clutching Dumbledore's arm, Harry slurred, "Cup—Bellatrix."
"What? Harry, what are you saying?" Dumbledore lowered his head.
"Bellatrix! He gave the cup to Bellatrix Lestrange!" Harry shouted before passing out completely.
---
Just to clarify, Grindelwald isn't the house elf Bondy; he witnessed all this through Bondy's eyes.
You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.
As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:
- Early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.
- You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.
- You Get Ad-free Chapters.
- Plus, you can Cancel your membership at any time.