Bab 628: Chapter 628: Tricks (Edited)
As members of the Order of the Phoenix and Death Eaters fought fiercely, Dumbledore stood guard at the entrance gate of Hogwarts. Hermione was by his side, wearing a disgusted expression.
For Hermione, this wasn't a true adventure, let alone a moment of growth.
When she thought that Tom was leading his followers in a bloody battle against the Death Eaters while she was limited to watching the gate, frustration welled up within her.
"Professor Dumbledore..." Hermione was about to say something when Dumbledore's expression suddenly turned serious.
"Miss Granger, step back," Dumbledore indicated, gesturing for Hermione to stand behind him, as he kept a watchful eye on the distant horizon.
Hermione felt a little puzzled, but seeing Dumbledore so serious, she obediently took two steps back and positioned herself behind Dumbledore's imposing figure.
A black smoke suddenly appeared in the distant sky and then gradually expanded, sweeping towards Hogwarts.
Hermione immediately understood what was happening. She knew that Voldemort had arrived.
Just when she was excited that Voldemort had finally shown up and wanted to confront him, she became nervous once he actually arrived.
It was Voldemort! The darkest and most evil wizard in the magical world!
But as she looked at Dumbledore's firm back, Hermione felt a bit calmer. With Dumbledore present, Voldemort couldn't cause trouble.
Seeing the approaching black smoke, Dumbledore extended his wand.
A spell shot through the air and struck the oncoming column of smoke, disintegrating it.
The shattered black smoke didn't dissipate but instead gathered about ten meters in front of Dumbledore and transformed into a bald, black-robed wizard.
Voldemort had appeared again before Dumbledore.
When Voldemort saw Dumbledore, his face turned entirely grim. Dumbledore shouldn't be here! He should be inspecting Malfoy Manor with Ministry of Magic officials!
The fact that he appeared here only meant one thing: he had fallen into Dumbledore's trap.
He had been deceived by Dumbledore's propaganda campaign.
Dumbledore glanced at Voldemort's left arm, dry and black, and smiled. "Riddle, I thought you'd prioritize healing your arm, but it seems you've decided to seek trouble with the Dementors first."
A tone of fury flared in Voldemort's eyes; Dumbledore's words had touched a sensitive nerve and stoked the malevolent fire in his heart.
"It's just a minor injury, nothing important. After dealing with you, I can naturally heal my arm." Voldemort wasn't lying; he had actually thought of a method to heal the curse on his arm, but recently, he had been busy with many other matters and had postponed his healing plans.
Voldemort's gaze landed on Hermione behind Dumbledore, his eyes narrowed.
"Dumbledore, it seems your judgment skills are worsening. Is she your chosen heir? I thought you'd prefer to hang that Potter boy by the neck, but in the end, you've chosen someone who isn't even better than him." After giving Hermione a glance, Voldemort showed an expression of disdain, which made Hermione tremble with anger.
"Even if she becomes someone like McGonagall, what's the point?" Clearly, Voldemort also held Professor McGonagall in contempt.
"You don't need to worry about that. She understands magic that you will never comprehend in your entire life."
"Is it love again?" Voldemort raised an eyebrow. If he had a nose, he would definitely be wrinkling it right now to express his internal disdain.
"Yes, love is the greatest magic in the world." Dumbledore moved his wand, and the winged boar statues atop the entrance began to move, inhaling through their noses and exhaling through their mouths as they swooped down toward Voldemort.
Voldemort pursed his lips and destroyed one of the statues that was closer to him with a spell, then conjured a wall of fire in an attempt to block the statues.
From the rear, Hermione rolled her eyes. How could a wall of fire stop stone statues?
However, this demonstrated Hermione's ignorance. After the winged boar statues passed through the wall of fire, their bodies became tainted with the fire from the wall.
Dumbledore immediately felt that controlling the statues was becoming more difficult, their movements becoming sluggish.
Voldemort seized the opportunity to attack repeatedly, summoning various creatures to assail Dumbledore.
The summoned beings from both sides continued to battle each other. Dumbledore decided to withdraw control over the boars, allowing them to confront the enemies until their magic was exhausted.
This is how Dumbledore faced Voldemort.
Hermione was extremely nervous in the rear. She felt as though her brain had frozen, unable to think clearly. Voldemort was like a mountain pressing down on her shoulders, making her feel suffocated.
It was her first time seeing Voldemort, and the pressure this dark wizard exerted on her was overwhelming.
Voldemort twirled his wand, flicking it like a whip. A long, slender flame shot out from the wand's tip, wrapping around Voldemort. In an instant, that flame transformed into a serpent that slithered along his body, emitting a sinister hiss as it headed towards Dumbledore.
When Dumbledore's spell hit it, the fire snake didn't dissipate but split in two. The next moment, the two broken parts regrew, turning the halves into two complete serpents, which continued advancing towards Dumbledore.
At that moment, Hermione bit her tongue. She felt she had to find a way to help Professor Dumbledore. So she waved her wand, turning it into several ropes that tied the two snakes together.
"Hmph," Voldemort snorted coldly and moved his wand in a swift motion. Instantly, the two fire snakes simultaneously exploded, spreading fire everywhere. He himself disappeared from the spot, evading Dumbledore's counterattack.
In the next instant, a flame burst in the air above Dumbledore's head, and Voldemort reappeared. He stood atop the entrance gate of Hogwarts, looking down at Dumbledore and Hermione.
"Watch out!" Hermione involuntarily shouted.
Dumbledore quickly spun at a speed incongruous with his age. A fiery phoenix flew from the tip of his wand, straight towards Voldemort's face.
Surprisingly, Voldemort showed no intention of dodging. Instead, he countered with a green bolt at the same time the shattered flames were also manipulated by him and headed towards both of them.
A beam of golden and red light shone, and Fawkes, the phoenix, flew towards Dumbledore, devouring Voldemort's green spell. Dumbledore's own fire spell also struck Voldemort's chest.
But something astonishing happened: Fawkes resisted the killing curse without any reaction, while Voldemort, who had been hit in the chest, turned into a burning log with a paper talisman attached to it.
"Oh, no!" Dumbledore's face suddenly changed; he instantly realized that Voldemort had played a nasty trick on him. The next moment, the Voldemort struck in the chest turned into a burning log with a paper talisman attached to it, and the real Voldemort appeared behind Dumbledore, raising his wand.
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